Adam, Where Are You?

“But the Lord God called to the man and said, ‘Where are you?’” Genesis 3:9.  

Adam, where are you?  Why have you suddenly taken up hiding?  Adam tucked his body deeper into the folds of an out-of-this-world sized hosta.  He felt the edge of the cold steel blade rested against his bear back side.  An unfamiliar object, slightly uncomfortable, but seemingly necessary.  If all else fails, he’ll drive it into the soul of the nearest human.   

“And he said, ‘I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself’,” Genesis 3:10.   My weak condition is fully exposed, he thought, and I am vulnerable.  All of his deceptability… .all of his personal incompleteness… .exposed to the eyes of someone’s judgment.

  “Who told you that you were naked?” Genesis 3:11.  How did you become conscious of your lack?  Conscious of your frailty and ability to die?  “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” Genesis 3:11.  I had to give you a free choice, God thought, but I just wanted to keep you safe.  

Adam clutched the dagger closer.  There was nothing to protect him from accusation.  If accused, he would be discovered as an imposter.  Only a weak human and half a human at that.  He wasn’t the great and mighty keeper of the garden.  He wasn’t the protector of living things.  He could be taken advantage of by that woman!   Maybe his vulnerability wasn’t the issue!  Maybe that woman had intense deceptive powers!  She should take responsibility for his failure!  And the dagger was lifted to cut, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate,” Genesis 3:12.  He was right, wasn’t he?  She was easily faulted too.  Eve was a sinner.