Where Are You?

Posted on September 13, 2014

Tomorrow I’ll begin my fall sermon series based on the Trevor Hudson book “Questions God Asks Us.”  The first question in the book is the first to appear in scripture.  It is God’s question to Adam:  “Where Are You?”

I doubt my understanding and interpretation of any bible story has evolved as much over the years as my understanding of this story of Adam and Eve in the garden in Genesis, chapter 2.  As a child I sang a catchy tune about it at church camp.  As a child, I think I considered it a literal explanation of the process of creation.  I guess it didn’t cross my mind to think about the fact that there were two strikingly different stories back to back in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.  Back then, I simplistically thought the man and woman got thrown out of paradise because they ate an apple they weren’t supposed to eat… Maybe it was a helpful anecdote for getting children to obey the rules of adults!

As I got older, I began to think about the story as an explanation for sin and decided the sin was that of disobedience.  It wasn’t really about a piece of fruit; it was about them being disobedient toward God.

But now, I’ve decided disobedience was the symptom of that first sin; not the cause of it.  The root of their disobedience was a failure to trust God.  The woman has a choice to make: will she trust the Word of God or the word of the serpent?  I mean, think about it.  When someone we fully trust makes a request of us, we generally do our best to oblige.  But, if we do not trust them, we will weigh our options and consider the cost of what they ask.

We speak of Christianity as a faith or a belief system.  But it is, more fundamentally, about a relationship.  It is like that old gospel hymn, “Trust and Obey.”  We can only obey if we fully trust.

Find out more about the Questions God Asks Us sermon series at http://www.trinitylafayette.org