Hiding from God 躲避上帝
Dexu Xia
The Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Genesis 3:9
I squeezed my eyes shut and started counting aloud. My fellow third-grade classmates tore out of the room to find a place to hide. After scouring every cabinet, trunk, and closet for what felt like hours, I still couldn’t find one of my friends. I felt ridiculous when she finally jumped out from behind a lacey, potted fern hanging from the ceiling. Only her head had been eclipsed by the plant—the rest of her body had been in plain sight the entire time!
Since God is all-knowing, when Adam and Eve “hid from [Him]” (Genesis 3:8) in the garden of Eden, they were always in “plain sight.” But they weren’t playing any childhood game; they were experiencing the sudden awareness—and shame—of their wrongdoing, having eaten from the tree God told them not to eat from.
Adam and Eve turned from God and His loving provision when they disobeyed His instructions. Instead of withdrawing from them in anger, however, He sought them out, asking, “Where are you?” (v. 9). It’s not that He didn’t know where they were, but He wanted them to know His compassionate concern for them.
I couldn’t see my friend hiding, but God always sees us and knows us—to Him we’re always in plain sight. Just as He pursued Adam and Eve, Jesus sought us out while we were “still sinners”—dying on the cross to demonstrate His love for us (Romans 5:8). We no longer need to hide.
When have you tried to “hide” from God? How has He sought you out?
Father God, thank You for demonstrating Your love and care for me despite the ways I wrong You.
耶和华上帝呼唤那人，对他说﹕“你在哪里？”—创世记3章9节
记得小学三年级的时候，我跟同学们一起玩捉迷藏。我一紧闭双眼、大声数数，大家就立即跑去躲起来。我搜遍所有的柜子、箱子和壁橱，感觉就像过了好几个钟头，但连一个人都找不到。直到小萍终于从天花板垂挂下来的那盆花边蕨类植物后面跳出来时，我不禁好气又好笑。因为那盆植物其实只遮掩她的头，但她的身形却清晰可见！
上帝是全知的，因此当亚当和夏娃在伊甸园里“躲避”上帝时（创世记3章8节），其实他们仍然是“清晰可见”的。但他们并不是在玩捉迷藏，而是突然意识到自己做错事并感到羞耻，因为他们违背了上帝的吩咐，吃了上帝说不可吃的那树上的果子。
亚当和夏娃不听从上帝的命令，就是背弃上帝和祂慈爱的供应。但上帝没有愤怒地离弃他们，而是主动寻找他们，呼唤着：“你在哪里？”（9节）然而，这并不表示上帝不知他们身在何处，而是想让他们知道，上帝对他们的怜悯和关怀。
我看不到小萍就躲在那里，但上帝总是看到并了解我们。对祂而言，每个人都是清晰可见的。正如当初上帝寻找亚当和夏娃一样，耶稣在我们“还作罪人”的时候，就寻找我们，甚至为你我被钉死在十字架上，向我们显明祂对我们的爱（罗马书5章8节）。我们再也无需躲藏！
你何时曾尝试“躲避”上帝？祂如何找到了你？
天父，感谢祢，尽管我得罪了祢，
祢仍向我显明祢对我的爱与关怀。