Where Are You?

The first question God asks humanity is still the central question for all of us: Where are you? – that is, Where are you in relation to God? To help us answer it, God asks three more questions. The second, Who told you that you were naked? invites us to consider what other voices we are listening to to define reality, other than God’s? We can never silence those voices, but we can pursue habits and practices that make God’s voice loudest in our lives. The third and fourth questions are similar, asking Adam and Eve to admit their particular role in the fall. There really is blame to go around, but in order to have a relationship with God, we must own our part. Paradoxically, this radical honesty with God (also known as repentance) is the only way to avoid hiding from ourselves. The cross of Jesus gives us this freedom to repent and be covered by God’s grace, living humbly and gently before others.