Lost or Found?

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool[c] 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?”

Genesis 3:8-9

Everyone has lost something at one time or another. I recently found a website now at www.lostandfound.com that acts as a global “lost and found” box. Users can report items missing and users can report items found. It is a good example of how technology can help people connect in a useful way. This is a gateway site for all of the physical things that can be retrieved and returned to their rightful owners. According to their statistics, about twice as many objects have been reported lost as have been reported found in the U.S. So, the site’s users are losing things at twice the rate they are finding them.

The Bible is basically the story about how we got lost, and God came to find us. Of course, in the Bible, God didn't mess up and forget to do a headcount; we just walked away from God. We hid from God. We ditched God.

God's search for us begins with a very simple question: "Where are you?" In Hebrew, the original language the Bible was written in, this question is only one word: ayeka, "Where are you?"

"Where are you?" is perhaps the most important question we will ever face. It's also the shortest, most devastating, and most hopeful question anyone will ever ask us. This little question captures the complete story of how we got lost and how we can be found.

In the first two chapters of Genesis, we find a story of beauty, glory, and perfection. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth … and it was very good" (Gen. 1:1 and 31). We were made to bear the image of God's own glory and dignity. We were made to rule and reign with God (Gen. 1:26-27 and 2:15). We were meant to live as bold, creative artists in an exciting relationship with God, other human beings, and all of creation.

Then, in Genesis 3, we have the story of the Fall. It's all about how we got lost. This story is historical and mythical in the sense it is our story, too. It's a story of mistrust and rebellion against the good heart of God. Our first parents said: We can decide what is good and evil, right and wrong. We're smart enough; we know what's best.

The words "sound of the LORD" and "walking" in verse 8 are often used symbolically to refer to a simple idea: God is present. God comes looking for the lost man and the lost woman. And what is it that they do? They keep running. "They hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden."

This is what we do today also. We're not lost because God forgot to do a headcount; we're lost because we ran away and hid. If it was up to us to seek and find God, we'd all be hopelessly and eternally lost. In Romans 3:10-12 Paul says “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside" (Romans 3:10-12). The philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once wrote, "You cannot have the truth in such a way that you catch it, but only in such a way that it catches you." Our relationship with God is the same way: God catches us.

This question “Where are you?” exposes our hiding, our running, and our fig leaves. Do we still use fig leaves? John Ortberg interprets the fig leaves as those things we use to hide behind to prove we're not defective, broken, or sinful. They come in different shapes and sizes, but they all have this one thing in common: they're a self-made, self-covering project to cover our shame and nakedness.

What we need to understand is that God didn't ask the question for his benefit. He already knew exactly where Adam was. Adam needed the question to wake him up, to take him by the collar and shake him. Perhaps God is asking the question today to each one of us because we need a wake-up call.

Also this question brings to us the fact that God misses us when we go away from Him. Have you ever thought God misses you? Did you ever think beyond the idea of being "in trouble" with God to realize the God of the universe notices your absence, your waywardness, your flight from him—and he wants you back?

Well that's exactly what the Bible teaches. The Bible is a story of lost and found. God is the seeker and we are the lost fugitives. Throughout the Old Testament, God keeps saying to his people: Return to me. Come back to me. What happened to the intimacy we once had? You moved away.

The hunt was and is still on. God chases fugitives. That's what we see in Genesis, and that's what we see when Jesus pursues a crooked runt named Zaccheus.

Dear Friends "You might have lived 10, 30, 50, or 70, 80 or 90 years of your life—and where are you? What have you done with your life? Is it time for a wake-up call? Are you ready to meet God face to face?"

This Lenten Season The righteousness of Christ is available to all of us. That means when we place our faith in Jesus, when we trust him with our whole heart, he covers our shame. We don't have to wear fig leaves anymore. We don't have to hide anymore. This Lenten Season let us be with God at home.

God Bless You