When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

[Genesis 3:6-8]

There have been so many debates about Adam and Eve. The main debate tends to be who’s fault it was… was it Eve’s fault for eating the fruit first… was it Adam’s for disobeying God’s direct command… was it the first case of how the devil “made me do it?” Some people even debate that it was God’s fault. I think if we get caught up in these issues, we miss some profound truth found in those verses.

We often blame others when things go wrong. I know I like to do it. This passage gives us a great picture of how that works. Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent. You see it throughout scripture… people giving excuses for how we hurt, lie, cheat, steal, and murder. I think this passage, though often comes with an ugly tone, is actually quite beautiful. You see, Adam and Eve were so caught up in trying to pass the blame they missed out on one key thing… God was asking where they were.

Why would God ask where they were? I mean, doesn’t he know everything? But that’s the point, he was well aware that Adam and Eve had messed up but He was pursuing them…

Where are you?

Did you eat from the tree?

What is this you have done?

Those were all opportunities that God was giving to Adam and Eve to come forth and be honest. He was looking to reconnect with his beloved children. That’s the story of us. That’s my story at least. We mess up and when God asks us to be up front and honest, we make excuses. We become ashamed of our nakedness. We hide. And when we make excuses we miss out on something beautiful… the grace of God. Sometimes we have no problem blaming ourselves… we’ll beat ourselves up to the point that we can’t even hear God calling for us… seeking us out; It’s just another form of hiding. I’m not saying we should practice some sort of happy-go-lucky or chaotic theology that isn’t hard on sin… I’m saying that God is definitely hard on sin, but he’s even harder on grace.

Many years later after Adam and Eve, Jesus was in a garden as well. This garden wasn’t a garden of paradise for him… it was a garden of pain. The bible says that Jesus was in such torment and agony that he was sweating blood. They arrested him, took him away, and accused him of all kinds of wrong-doing. But unlike Adam and Even, he had done nothing wrong.

But he had no excuses…
and though he had every right to, he didn’t blame anyone.

When they hung him up on the cross, he also cried out, where are you? He cried out to God, but there was no answer. Silence.

You see, for Jesus… “where are you?” meant he was separated from God… abandoned, forgotten, left for dead. But he did that so that when we hear “where are you?” it means a reconnection with God. It’s no longer a question of guilt but of grace. It’s Jesus, dying on a cross, showing you that he is seeking you out in the most incredible way… by sacrificing himself. He became naked so that we could be clothed in righteousness.

So maybe you’re like me… I sometimes ask God where he is. But if I were to pay attention and remember the cross and how much he loves me…

I would realize that God’s been asking me the same question my entire life. Maybe he’s asking you the same thing, where are you?

I bought Joanne dinner and gave her a hug. I never spoke to her again. I wonder what she’s doing right now. I wonder if she ever thinks of me. I met Joanne in Downtown Chicago. Some friends and I had just gotten out of a restaurant where we ate expensive, yet delectable, food and drank drinks that were unkind to our wallets. Our hunger was satiated beyond the point of dessert… well, not really… we all shared in a communal sweet. As we were waiting outside of the restaurant and loitering, like Asians are often in the custom of doing, I saw her. She was frail, tired, and worn out. Many hardships and the scarcity of kindness had painted her face with loneliness. Joanne is a homeless person. Joanne is a bum.

I asked her if she wanted something to eat. I took her request and went inside the restaurant and ordered a burger for her. It would probably be the most expensive burger she had ever eaten… at least I’d like to think so. Maybe my meal was far more special than any other meal anyone has ever bought her. We couldn’t stay because we had to leave to get back to South Barrington. I asked the manager if he could bring out the meal to her when it was done. He said it was against their policy to bring food outside for customers. I then told him that I’ll have her wait inside for the meal. He relented and promised me that he would bring it out for her. I gave him a nice tip. I really hope he brought it out for her.

When I went back outside, Sam was talking to her and listening to her story. I guess buying someone a meal is much easier than having a real conversation with them. I guess I tried that once with a homeless lady I met in Glendale and our conversation was limited to one word answers. I think she had a mental disorder so she wasn’t much for conversation. The only words she needed to hear were, “Eat. Taste some dignity. Somebody cares what happens to you.” But maybe… I was really buying myself some freedom from guilt for having a life of blessing when my life could have been very different for no apparent reason at all.

We gave Joanne a hug and went on our way. I’d like to think that she enjoyed the most delicious burger she has ever had in her life and for one night… she actually felt full.