“…she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened…and 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. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden and was afraid” – Genesis 3:6-10
When God showed up in Bethlehem it was not the first time that He came into our broken world. I want to remind you again that Christmas is a revelation of the characteristics and attributes of our loving God that have always existed and that He has always exhibited. Creation began with God shedding “light” in the world. We have a God who reveals…brings things to light!
Unfortunately, the light that God brings is not always welcomed. There are things in our lives that we would rather keep hidden. Imperfections that we don’t want to see…or others to see for that matter. We know we are not perfect and that we cannot live up to the standards of a holy God. In fact, we can seldom live up to the expectations of others. So, we hide in the dimmer lit rooms of the world amidst the crowds hoping that God doesn’t look in our direction. But, He does. It’s part of who He is…He shows up when we mess up.
Adam and Eve had everything going for them. Things were perfect and the fellowship in the light of the Creator was spectacular! They were free! Free to love, to live, to choose…oh. A bad choice. Freedom was exchanged for the bondage of sinful pride…and here comes God. Now the light hurts a little. We are ashamed of our shortcomings, bad decisions, and mistakes. Like Adam and Eve we hide.
But, our God is one who comes to us. He is not repelled by our sinful condition, but seeks us out to restore fellowship. This is how forgiveness begins. It shows up when we mess up.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” – John 3:16
“Where are you?” says the perfect holy One, “Why are you hiding?”
Do you see Christmas in Genesis 3? God comes to us in our sinful condition and calls to us and offers us forgiveness and reconciliation. It is who He is…He shows up when we mess up.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” – John 1:14