NiCK'S SANCTUARY: Where are you?

In my last post, whilst reviewing Lady in the Water, I spoke of what I considered to be the saddest question in the Bible:

"Where are you"?

It comes from Genesis 3, picture the scene if you will:

Mankind has just fallen... but doesn't know it yet. Adam and Eve have gained the knowledge of good and evil... but have done so at a terrible price - they have severed the relationship between themselves and God through disobedience. God enters the Garden and calls out to his beloved friend - his precious ones... and they are nowhere to be found. Eventually he finds them cowering in a hedge and they are cast out of Eden.

Now God is omniscient and he knows exactly where Adam and Eve are hiding (I bet he isn't much fun at hide and seek, Ackey 123, or sardines), therefore the question is not a geographical one.

So why does he ask it?

I believe he asked it because he was challenging Adam and Eve to be honest about what they had done. However, I believe the question carries a deeper significance and meaning that resonates down through the ages even to us today. Lean in real close and you might here a whisper in the wind or a murmur in the darkness...

"Where are you?"

God still calls out to every one of us... desiring to know where we are.

So... where are you?

Maybe you came here on a random Google search looking for an answer to some other question... and if so, I hope you found it... but I hold a deeper hope that whilst here you take/took the time to try and answer to where you were?

Are you hiding in the brambles? (ouch!)

You may believe that your life is wonderful and you have no need for God... and if that is you, then good luck to you - though I do hope you will reconsider that position.

However, you may believe that your life is a mess... that you have little to offer people or God and that the walls are closing in on your life... and all hope is lost. If that is you, I'd like you to consider inviting Jesus into your life. On the other hand you might actually be a Christian but find yourself stricken by adversity, struggles or the storms of life around you. If either of those are you... I want to reassure you of God's love for you through a few passages. Jesus applied these words to himself with regards to his mission:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."

Luke 4:18-19

Jesus' mission... is YOU.

"Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

Luke 15:3-7

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

Luke 19:10

I put it to you therefore, that Jesus Christ... is God's response to his own question. Not content with asking where we are spiritually... he sent his Son to find us and save us... even at the cost of his life. What then, shall we do in response to this?

Finally I want leave you with a song that has touched my heart recently. I do not believe it is a "Christian" song... but it certainly speaks to me of God's love and I hope that it speaks something to you of the insurmountable love God has for every one of us... especially you: