In Genesis 3:9, after Adam and Eve have sinned in the Garden of Eden, God appears to be looking for them as he calls out, “Where are you?” I had never thought about it much, but I was encouraged to think about this part of the story again.

Did God lose Adam and Eve?

Had God created a part of the Garden he had forgotten about somehow?

What exactly is going on here?

No, God did not lose Adam and Eve. There was not some extra part of the Garden or Earth that had slipped the mind of the God of the Universe. When He asks where they are, God is actually communicating a very important message…

“I want a relationship with you.”

At least this is what a speaker shared recently. It makes sense, right. God was not lacking knowledge of the location of Adam and Eve. Their relationship had been broken though, and God opens the Bible with this simple message, “I want relationship with you.”  Over and over again throughout the Bible, this message is reinforced.

As my family discussed this passage of Scripture this week, our 12 year old seemed to understand it better than me. As I explained how God had not lost Adam and Eve and was about to explain it, my daughter finished my sentence. “Where are you?” was, in her words, “an invitation to come back.” 

Whoa! Deep. We all need to know and remember from time to time, “God wants a relationship with you.” No matter what roads we take in life, God is constantly inviting us back into relationship.