Where are you?

After Adam and Eve had succumbed to the serpent’s temptation and eaten the forbidden fruit, thus sealing the fate of humanity, God approaches them in the garden to talk with them.

The conversation consists of four questions. Where are you? Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? What is this you have done? (Cf. Genesis 3:8-13).

As I have noted, God knew the answers, but asked the questions to help Adam and Eve reflect on what they had done, speak the truth, and then act appropriately.

They, of course, failed the test because, as someone has succinctly put it, they were the “original idiots”.

However, the questions are a brilliant foundation for our own self-assessment. They require us to accept the reality that we often hide from God, to admit that we tend to listen to lies rather than the truth, and to acknowledge that we usually don’t fully grasp the consequences of our sinful actions. In other words, we would all benefit from this kind of conversation with God.

So, let me ask you, where are you in your spiritual walk? Which voice is the strongest in your life - faith or doubt? What are you doing about it?

Robert