God With UsSample

When I think about the Christmas story in the Bible, I don't often think about Adam and Eve. However, we're going to begin this journey today at that place.

Over the next three days in this plan, I'm going to share three truths about where God meets us. The first one is this: God meets us in our default position: hiding in shame.

In Genesis chapter 3, we read an account of creation and the first humans. In this text, we see the first instance of God with humanity. The short version is that the woman named Eve saw that the fruit of the tree God had forbidden was "good for food and delightful to look at and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom." She ate it and gave some to Adam, who ate it too.

They realized their nakedness and sewed fig leaves together to cover it. When they heard God walking in the garden, they hid. God called out to them, asking, "Where are you?" The man said, "I heard you. I was naked. So I hid."

It's such a fascinating story—one that we experience in our own lives. When Adam and Eve sensed that God was with them, what did they feel? Excitement? No. Joy? No. The desire to worship Him? No.

They were afraid, ran, and hid. Like us, they moved away from God and tried to hide and pretend. I wonder if they hoped God wouldn't discover what they'd done. In Genesis 3 and our lives today, our default response to God coming near us is feeling shame and hiding. We all have things we hope no one finds out. We wish we could take back careless words. We want to unsend thoughtless emails or texts.

In Genesis 3, we see that humanity hid from each other, and then we hid from God.

Adam and Eve realized they were naked. They made the first set of clothing and began to hide from each other. When God showed up in the garden, they hid from God. Despite knowing what they'd done, God still sought them out, asking them, "Where are you?"

Think about the people you care about today. Are there things you hope they don't ask you about? Are there conversations you feel scared to enter? Are there truths you feel ashamed of when thinking about their discovery?

We've been hiding from each other and hiding from God ever since the garden. Our default position is hiding and shame. The good news is that we see God coming near us in the garden and at Christmas. Amid our hiding and our shame, like Adam and Eve, He comes for us. He asks, "Where are you?" While we may feel unworthy of God, the message of Christmas is that God comes near us—not as we wish we were, but as we are today.

In that place where you are hiding and carrying shame, I want you to read the following words Jesus spoke to Adam and Eve: " Where are you?" God is near you, and God is with you today. He has not run from you, and you don't need to clean up your life to be close to Him.

The opening verse of Romans 8 reminds us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The message of Christmas is one we need to hear all year long—God with us, bringing freedom, not condemnation.

On the next day of this plan, we'll see how God comes near us when we feel stuck in darkness—and not the good kind!