You Will Be Found
LOST?
Several years ago when our kids were young we took them to Disney World for a few days.
If you’ve ever been there then you know, it’s magical for so many reasons. They go above and beyond to make it an experience you’ll never forget.
One of the ways they do that is they have some of their most beloved characters walking around the park. These are people dressed up like your favorite Disney princess, or maybe a Star Wars storm trooper, or other characters like that.
But there are some characters that you can’t dress up like. So instead, you have to get into a giant mascot costume for characters like Mickey Mouse or Buzz Lightyear.
Well, one thing you need to know about our daughter Gracie, she hates Mascots. She’s terrified of them. At least she was when she was little. When we had to go to a birthday party at a place like Chucky Cheese and that giant mouse came out to meet the kids, Gracie would hide under the table. She had no desire to high five a giant rat!
So we’re walking through the park at Disney one night and all of a sudden Alisha and I realize, we can’t find Gracie!
We don’t know where she is! She’s LOST!
We’re those crazy parents walking around Disney screaming, “Gracie, where are you?!”
Long story short, as we were walking through the park that night the evil character from Aladdin by the name of Jafar came walking through as well. Alisha and I didn’t even see him. But Gracie did! And when she did she hid!
Hiding
When she hid she was LOST. We couldn’t find her.
People hide for all kinds of reasons. People get lost for all kinds of reasons. Fear is certainly one of them. And one of those instincts that will kick in when we’re afraid is flight!
Gracie hid that night because she was afraid. And when she hid, we couldn’t find her.
Not only was she afraid in that moment, we were afraid in that moment. We weren’t afraid of Jafar, we were afraid because she was lost. And when she realized that she couldn’t find us, that she was lost and alone, she was afraid, too.
Is there any worse feeling than feeling LOST and ALONE?
People become lost for all sorts of reasons. And we can certainly talk more about those reasons. But at the end of the day, when a parent loses a child the reason that child is lost isn’t the most important thing in that moment. The most important thing is that they are lost and there’s nothing you want more than for them to be FOUND!
“When someone we love is LOST there’s nothing we want more than for them to be FOUND!”
– Corey Trevathan
Did God Really Say?
So can you imagine just how much MORE God, our Father in Heaven, feels this pain for all His children who are LOST for whatever reason? Who are far from Him for whatever reason? Who are in hiding for whatever reason?
This is exactly what happened in the very beginning when God created Adam and Eve.
Maybe you remember this story. This is our origin story. It’s the story of how everything began.
Genesis 3.1-10
1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
In Genesis chapters 1 and 2, God created everything. The whole world came into being.
God spoke and there was light and dark, night and day. He made the sun, moon, and stars. He made the animals, the trees, and everything in between.
Then he created humankind. Male and female. Adam and Eve. And God gave them charge over the garden. This was their work, this was their purpose, this was their gift.
But with it came one condition. In Genesis 2 God told Adam,
“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” – Genesis 2.16-17
So now the serpent comes along and he knows what God has said, he knows the word of God, but listen to the question, to the way the temptation is framed…
“Did God really say…?”
Every temptation begins with this kind of rationalization. Anytime we ask ourselves, “Did God really say…?” alarm bells should be going off in our brains! This is the question our adversary wants us to always be asking.
If he can get us to question God, to doubt God, to rationalize ourselves into a bad decision, he knows he can win. Our enemy doesn’t ever have to make us do anything, all he has to do is get us to ask the question, “Did God really say…?”
What God Really Said…
Eve hears the question and listen to her answer.
2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
Quick Time Out: That’s NOT what God said.
God did NOT say, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
What God said in Genesis 2.16-17 was this,
“You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” – Genesis 2.16-17
So why did Eve ADD the command that they couldn’t even touch the tree or they would die?
To be fair, Eve wasn’t there when God gave Adam this instruction. So she probably heard it from Adam. So maybe Adam took it one step further for their protection? Or maybe Eve took it one step further for their protection? Either way, the serpent can leverage this moment to sell them his lies.
4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
And there’s the lie. The serpent says, “You won’t die.” Which clearly goes against what God said. And then the serpent adds the carrot at the end of the stick. He follows the lie with an empty promise.
It’s like that time I believed the lie that if I bought the Hulk Hogan work out set as a kid, which I did when I was like 10 years old, that I would have muscles like Hulk Hogan. As you can see, that clearly didn’t happen. But I believed the lie and I bought the box of weights but it didn’t work!
Eve buys the lie and she’s about to be on the receiving end of an empty promise.
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.
Like every lie our enemy tries to sell us, there’s a little truth in it.
Their eyes were opened. But they already knew the difference between good and evil. They knew the difference between right and wrong. They knew they were not supposed to eat the fruit from this tree. But their eyes were opened. And what they saw when their eyes were opened was their own nakedness and they felt shame.
Before this moment, they were naked and not ashamed.
After this moment, they were naked and ashamed.
Shame
Shame is a powerful feeling.
It can be a destructive force in our lives. But it also serves a powerful purpose. Whenever we feel shame, it alerts us to the reality that things are not the way they are supposed to be within us.
Adam and Eve feel shame because of their sin. And when they do, you know what they do? They hide.
What they didn’t know then and what you may not know now is that we can come to God just as we are, we can be fully known AND fully loved.
8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they HID from the Lord God among the trees.
The invitation from the very beginning from God was to come and walk with Him.
Adam and Eve weren’t surprised to hear God walking in the garden. Maybe this was something God did every day at this time of day. Either way, when they heard God walking their way, for the very first time, they HID.
9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
The very first words of God after the very first sin of man are these three words:
“Where are you?”
When people are lost for whatever reason, our God is a God who comes looking, searching, wanting to find those who are lost. And the question God asks when He comes looking is simply this: “Where are you?”
Adam hears God and he comes out of hiding and says…
10 “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”
This is what sin does. Sin separates. Sin sends us into hiding.
At this point sin and shame enter the story but here’s the Good News, sin and shame are not the headline of this story.
But before I tell you what the headline of this story is, let me just ask you…
Where are you today?
Are you LOST? Is someone you know and love LOST?
In 2016 a new musical entitled, “Dear Evan Hanson” premiered.
I’m not recommending or endorsing this movie, but sometimes a story or a song comes along in our culture that speaks a gospel truth into our world.
If you haven’t seen the musical, the movie, I’ll give you an idea what it’s all about without ruining the ending.
Evan Hanson is a high school boy dealing with social anxiety. And through a series of unforeseen events, a video goes viral of Evan making a speech reminding people that we are not alone. That we have each other.
Evan sings this SONG, which has become an anthem for anyone and everyone who has ever felt alone, and it breaks through the feelings of isolation and brings people together.
Listen to this song and these lyrics…
Sometimes a secular song comes forward and resonates loudly with our world because at the heart of it is a gospel message. And this is the message of the gospel: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Jesus came, he loved, he lived, he died, and he rose again so you could know, YOU WILL BE FOUND.
Just like the shepherd who left the 99 to find the one sheep who was lost, YOU WILL BE FOUND.
Just like the woman who turned her house upside down to find the one coin that was lost, YOU WILL BE FOUND.
Just like the Father who gave his sons everything he had so they could know whenever they felt lost and alone, THEY WOULD BE FOUND.
Just like that little girl who was lost at Disney World, YOU WILL BE FOUND.
When you feel LOST and ALONE, here is the Good News:
This is the headline of the story!
The headline of this story is NOT sin and shame, it is God’s great love.
I wonder, who in your world needs to hear that message today? Maybe today, call or text someone you care about who may be feeling a little lost and alone right now and tell them.
You are NOT ALONE.
The Rest of the Story
By the way, here’s the rest of the story.
Genesis 3.20-21
20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. 21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
God addressed their sin and shame. He handed down the consequences for their actions. They had to leave the Garden.
But they did not leave IN their sin and shame. They did not leave naked and alone. God clothed them with animal skins. And God went with Him.
He continued to walk with His people. As you continue to read the story of Genesis, what you discover is that God is still present with His people. He didn’t stay in the Garden.
And God still talked with His people. He did not become silent.
And God continued to seek His people, even when they were lost in sin. He pursued them. He forgave them again and again. No matter how far they went, they were never far from His love.
Because God loves people. God loves lost people. And God loves to bring lost people home to Him.
So today, may we know we are loved, and may we love those who are lost the way God loves those who for whatever reason are far from Him.
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