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The First Glimmer of Mercy

Daily Reflection / Produced by The High Calling
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"Then the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?' "

Genesis 3:9

I remember playing hide and seek with my children when they were very young. Their hiding places were ineffective, to say the least. I could usually see or hear them right as I started looking for them. But, nevertheless, I'd pretend as if I didn't know where they were, calling: "Where are you? I can't find you. Where are you hiding?" It made the game much more fun.

Given what we've learned about God in the first two chapters of Genesis, there's little doubt that his calling out to the man "Where are you?" wasn't a reflection of God's ignorance. He knew where the man was hiding. So why did God call out? Why did he not point out the man's obvious hiding place, not to mention his obvious sin? God was not playing a game with the man. Rather, he was reaching out to him, graciously seeking fellowship even in the face of egregious sin. In God's simple question, "Where are you?," we glimpse the first glimmer of the divine mercy that will one day lead to the cross.

Is God calling to you? Are you willing to hear his voice today?

PRAYER: Gracious God, thank you for calling out to me when I am lost. Thank you for initiating relationship with me even when I'm trying to hide from you. You don't force me to return to you. But you do reach out in your mercy so that I might return home to you.

Help me, dear Lord, to respond when you call. May I leave behind my foolish efforts to hide from you and flee, not from you, but from sin and deception as I run to your grace. Amen.

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