The Search
Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9 NASB
Where are you? – Hey, it’s Friday. You have some time to actually study this verse. So I’ve collected a few pointers about the importance of God’s question. Can I make a suggestion? Review each of these before you read what we’re looking at today. Each one will only take a couple of minutes—and you’ll have a much better appreciation for what follows. Go ahead. Take some time.
First, two from 2009
Then two from 2015
Then one from 2017
And now for today’s investigation.
“Where are you?” No, it’s not a citation from the Genesis story. It’s a question for you! Where are you right now? If God is asking, where are you responding? Heschel points to the existential meaning of this question:
“To the Biblical mind man is not only a creature who is constantly in search of himself but also a creature God is constantly in search of. Man is a creature in search of meaning because there is a meaning in search of him, because there is God’s beseeching question, ‘Where art thou?’”[1]
Are you aware of God’s searching for you? Can you feel Him looking, not to judge you but to find you? Do you apprehend the concern in His question, the anxiety that you might be lost and in need? God’s question to Adam is His question to us. As Heschel notes, the question presupposes we are searching for ourselves. We are looking for meaning in our existence, for purpose and direction. We search for something beyond us. And this reflects God’s concern for us. Our search ends when we discover His search. His search ends when we find ourselves in Him. Today just meditate on this fact: God cares enough about you to come looking. It’s a gentle process, a coaxing plea. Oh, He knows where you’re located, but that’s not the question. He wants to know why you aren’t right there with Him.
Topical Index: where, question, search, Genesis 3:9
[1] Abraham Heschel, Between God and Man: An Interpretation of Judaism (Free Press Paperbacks, 1959), pp. 238-239.
