Hide & God Seek

"They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden."
"Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you?"
"He said, 'I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself."
(Genesis 3:8-10)

I remember when I was younger the times…yes I said the "times", I know it's hard to believe, for those who truly know me, that I did more than one wrong thing in my years of growing up…but I did…any way… the times when I did something that I knew very well my dad told me not to do, I remember being very nervous, very afraid to be around him. Not that he was mean or would beat me, but that I felt like he was going to find out. That he was going to be disappointed in me ( I didn't want to be disciplined either). Maybe I would show some guilt on my face, let the secret slip or just be there when he did find out. It seemed sometimes that if I wasn't around him when I was hiding something from him, then he may not find out my wrong doings. This is like the feelings that Adam must have had when he sinned & was hiding in among the trees of the garden. If this is how he felt…I know for a fact…it's a bad feeling. It also would have strained his relationship with God, it did mine & dad's.
When I was keeping a secret from him of something I had done wrong, I could not have a good conversation with him, have a game of catch, go fishing, go to him to hear him read the funny papers to me or anything else and enjoy it. I was miserable trying to dodge my dad or trying to not look guilty around him. It's a very uncomfortable feeling when you are not right with your dad. It's even more uncomfortable when you are not right with your Heavenly Father. The communication that you & I need with Him is just not there. That sin is separating us from God. Not in the way of losing our salvation, but separation from His power, blessings, comfort & communication. We become almost useless in our serves to God when we are not right with Him.
But you know, when I came to my dad & confessed or was caught & everything was out in the open & handled…I felt so relieved & I new that then & only then could our relationship be normal & what it should be again. I could face him again, but I did have to earn back the trust. With God He says in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." He wants us to know that when we mess up we can always turn to him. The great thing about my earthly dad is that I knew I could always turn to him, I may have to suffer the discipline, but he was always there. God also is always there standing waiting for us. Though we still may have to suffer the consequences of our sin, He is still there to forgive us…standing, waiting. The father of the prodigal son…standing with his arms open…waiting to embrace the filthy mud & pig slop covered son. The son who has been miserable living with the pigs.
God also wants us to know that when we turn to Him we do not have to worry about Him hanging our forgiven sins over our heads as leverage. "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). He says here is forgiveness & freedom…take it…it's yours. Well, What are you waiting for? He knows what He's waiting for. He's waiting for you.

Vern