Lent Devotional: RestoreSample

Restore: Fall

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:8-9)

This is the first interaction Adam and Eve have with God after they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge. God is described as walking in the garden. Was this something God did regularly? What was life like for Adam and Eve, before their “eyes were opened”? Were they just able to be present and in the moment with each other and God? What would that feel like?

This seems to me like the moment God’s people became the kind of humans I recognize and understand: imperfect, separate from God and each other, aware of this separation, and scared. They each blame others for their situation. But God asks, “Where are you?”

It’s not a rhetorical question; he wants to know, and he reaches out to them to find out what happened. The story of the Bible is the story of God continuing to reach out – reaching a dramatic climax at Easter.

Take a moment to acknowledge that there are times you feel alone, separated from God and other people. Remember the times that God has reached out to you. How did that feel? Thank God for those moments, and ask him to help you to reach out to others to overcome the distance that sin has put between you.

Hannah Swithinbank, Tearfund