Where art thou? These were God’s first words, to the first sinners. What lovely words they are. They are true for any of us.
He is always calling out for us. He knows where we are, but He wants us to come out from hiding. He wants us to come to Him, to receive His grace and mercy.
Now, of course Adam and Eve suffered loss. They lost incredible privileges, including the ability to fellowship with God personally. This is a rigvht that was only restored for all mankind when the veil was torn in two, at Christ’s death. Now, people must only repent and receive His forgiveness for their sins. They must believe that Jesus Christ – God in flesh – took the punishment for their sins. He died in our place, on the cross, and then He rose from the dead.
This was God’s plan from the foundation of the world. He was not caught by surprise. He knew exactly what Adam and Eve would do. He gave them freedom, however, so they would nto be forced to come to Him. It’s a personal choice for anyone to be reconciled to God, and forgiven for their sin.
Notice, too that He called unto Adam. He didn’t wait for Adam to come to his senses. God immediately came down, knowing His children had sinned. He called out, just as he has been crying out to people ever since. It is not the harsh, angry cry of the tyrant. It is a cry filled with emotion, sensing the doomed state of the one that does not return to Him. It is the pitying cry of a loving, Heavenly Father, who knows that His children are hurting, and is pleading with them to come to Him and be healed.
So it is that God, in His infinite, unchanging love, came down. He called out, just as He would come down and call to others to receive Him in His earthly ministry. And, just as He calls out to everyone today. He cries out to them, to come to Him int heir lost condition. He longs to put His loving arms around them. He longs for them to come out of hiding, so He can restore them. Yes, He must chasten sometimes, but only be removing blessings and rewards from the saved. And, only because in doing so, He is helping us to be more loving, more compassionate, more of all that He is. Because, he is a God of mercy. His justice is forever mingled with his grace.
It began right here. When God called out to Adam, knowing what Adam and Eve had done, and yet wanting to restore that relationship as best He could, while still punishing sin. Every action has consequences, but He never intended for one of those consequences to be the dooming of mankind. He has always wanted to restore, so much so that He would ultimately come down Himself. He would come Himself, after many, many lambs were slain as pictures of what He would do. He came down Himself, as the ultimate Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
