Hiding From God

Hiding From God

[Adam] answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Genesis 3:10

We need to realize that hiding from God is the essence of sin. Unless God immediately sends help and calls back sinners, they will keep on trying to hide from God. And because sinners try to justify themselves with lies, they pile one sin on top of another. In the end they reach the point of open hypocrisy and deep despair. As a result, one sin leads to another, until the weight of their sin pulls them down into the pit. Ultimately, the sinners accuse God of causing the sin rather than placing the blame on themselves.

Adam should have said, “Lord, I’ve sinned!” But he didn’t do this. Instead, he blamed God, saying in effect, “Lord, you sinned. I would have enjoyed a holy life in Paradise in spite of eating the apple if you hadn’t said anything.” Adam’s thoughts and feelings were revealed when he implied that he wouldn’t have hidden if God’s voice hadn’t frightened him. Even though all people are guilty of sin, they don’t acknowledge it. Rather, they place the blame on their Creator. This only increases the burden of sin to infinite proportions unless God shows his mercy and comes to help.

Adam believed that his wicked and foolish thoughts were the highest wisdom. He was so overcome by his fear that he was barely aware of what he was saying or doing. As he tried to excuse himself, he actually condemned himself over and over and increased his burden of sin proportionately. At any rate, we must not think that these things happened to Adam alone. Every one of us does the same. Our human nature allows us to do nothing else, especially after we have committed a sin. We all prefer to put the blame on God rather than admit that we are sinners.