Abide In Him
“But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’” Genesis 3:9
Our God is a God of creation and restoration. Pastor Ben’s illustration of God’s resounding question to Adam directly after the fall still rings in my head this week.
Of course, our omniscient and omnipresent Father doesn’t need to be told where Adam is, we can all assume that. The depth of this question lies in the fact that God desires us to be in communion with Him always.
Adam and Eve have sinned and experienced shame for the first time. As a result, they have hidden from God, defying God’s original plan for humanity to always be in a relationship with Him. As Pastor Ben pointed out, the translation for “where” in the original Hebrew suggests a question more akin to: “Why aren’t you with me?”
Often the Holy Spirit will ask us that question, but there will be barriers in the way. Sin, shame, feelings (or lack thereof), and fear will seemingly prevent us from entering God’s presence. Thankfully, God has sent us an advocate, a Savior, and an intercessor in the form of His son Jesus Christ. The Book of Hebrews details how we may seek God despite all of these things that keep us away from Him.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16
What a wonderful and faith creating truth. Jesus knows us fully, every struggle and failure, every temptation, and weakness. He overcame these things in our place that we may be right with God in spite of our brokenness, and still, all these years after the fall, desires communion with us. He desires our restoration and that we abide with Him, as life was intended back in the Garden.
There is a great example of this early on in the story of God’s people. After the Ten Commandments and Mosaic covenant were given on Mount Sinai, the Israelites were invited to come up onto the mountain alongside Moses and commune with the Lord, yet their fear and shame stood as an illusory barrier, and they decided they would prefer to hear from Moses rather than God Himself.
As Moses continues to meet with God, the people below the mountain build themselves a golden calf to worship instead of Yahweh and break the covenant that God made with them. The Lord was just and dealt with them, disciplining and pruning His people that they may go forth and bear fruit rather than continue sinning, but He never broke His side of the covenant. Everything revolved around the original offer: come up the mountain and meet with Him.
His love goes to heights and depths that we cannot fathom. He chases after us even in our rebellion and apathy. He chose us from the foundation of the world to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation under Christ, our covering, our King. God’s character and kindness inspire us to repent and return to Him, like the prodigals we are. So now, we must continue to abide in Him, no matter what barriers stand in the way.
Going to meet with God and walk with Him is an ever-present struggle for me personally. Often I fear Him because I haven’t sought out the depths of His word and rightly understood the truth of who He is, and that He desires for me to be with Him. Sometimes I stand at the edge of the mountain, trembling at all the barriers that are in the way. Who I was, what I’ve done, how I feel.
But, every time I trust that He is who He says He is and that He meets me with the open arms of a loving Father, the reward is a peace that surpasses understanding. I’m reminded of the fact that He bought me with the blood of His only son, and that I now belong to Him. Rather than get lost in the world, I rest assured that this is where I should be, by His side, in His Word, and praying for all things.
I think this is what it means when Jesus says to abide in Him, as He abides in us. He’s there through everything we experience, and He empathizes with us and calls us to walk by His side on the narrow way to everlasting life.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5
As we abide in Him, the changes that we’ve longed for with God in the distance suddenly start to become reality because we have decided to draw near to Him, as He has desired all along. Our longing for holiness increases as the allure of the world fades away, and our growing knowledge of His character drives us onward to produce more fruit for His glory.
This practice of staying rooted in Christ becomes a preeminent dependence before everything else in our lives, and the more we practice it, the stronger we grow as believers. Whatever changes we desired are no longer superficially or temporarily achieved by our own power or for our own benefit, but instead for the testimony of what God’s real restorative power is able to do, that He may be praised.
Practically, I urge you (and myself) to be in the Word and prayer, as cliche as it may sound. I thank God for teaching me that the only way forward in the Christian life is to continue seeking His beauty. He is the everlasting well, providing water that quenches the eternal thirst of our souls. Let us drink from that well every morning when we arise, and every evening when we close our eyes. Let our cups overflow with all wisdom, love, and mercy, of which He is the source. Let us abide in Him.
~ Alex Nicholson serves as LIFE Worship Music Director and Social Media Coordinator.