God walks with us in the garden of our lives, in success and failure, joy and sorrow, life and death. More importantly, God walks with us not as a punitive deity, but as a “cool evening breeze,” that is, as a loving and life-giving presence. Genesis tells us that because of their shame, Adam and Eve were so afraid of God that they hid. Originally, they had no shame or fear. They were absolutely naked (transparent) in the presence of God, existing in a state of holy innocence. Then, sin, which literally means “to miss the mark,” happened. Adam and Eve took their eyes off of God’s truth, beauty, and goodness. In the vacuum they created, egoic consciousness flooded their minds and hearts. They forgot that God is love and the very essence of mercy. They forgot that they were created in God’s very image. When Adam and Eve hid from God they were simultaneously hiding from themselves because God was more intimate to them than they were to themselves. The key question is whether or not we are hiding from God, and in what ways. Today, let us stop hiding from God and ourselves by daring to be transparent to God and ourselves. All is forgiven. The world does not need our fear and shame, but it does need our original innocence. It needs us to walk with God in the cool evening breeze of silence, prayer, and contemplation.
Beloved God,
If I am avoiding you,
Come find me.
