The Mystery of God’s First Call
April 20, 2008
Scripture:
Genesis 3:8-10 - 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
Synopsis:
The word “mystery” is defined by Webster’s dictionary as being “a truth unknowable except by divine revelation.” The way and will of God often times is mysterious to man. Yet God reveals the mystery of His will to those who pursue Him and study his history. The mystery of why God would call man who He has created and commanded is worth investigating and is the subject of today’s weekly word.
There is no mystery surrounding why God created man. According to Genesis 1: 26 – 28, man was created in God’s image “to have dominion” and “to be fruitful.” There is no real mystery surrounding what God commanded man. Genesis 2: 16 -17 says God commanded man to “freely eat” from every tree in the garden of Eden, including the Tree of Life, and He commanded him “not to die” by eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Unfortunately, man chose to focus on the “not to die” instead of the “freely eat,” and traded abundant life for the superficial, intellectual knowledge of good and evil. Mankind through religion has perpetuated this mindset.
The real mystery surrounding God’s relationship with and will for mankind is why He would take time to call what He had already created and commanded. “Call” is defined by Webster’s dictionary as being “to cry out or shout in a loud voice.” It has the connotation of challenging someone you meet or encounter. So when God called to Adam asking him his whereabouts, it wasn’t because He didn’t know where he was. He was challenging and confronting Adam about his being out of position for his purpose. Adam wasn’t lost, he was mis-positioned.
God persistently and perpetually calls to all who are out of position for their purpose because He has invested a gift with a specific purpose in each one of us, and He wants a return on His investment. God is more concerned about our purpose than He is about our person because He knows you can’t be in position for your purpose and not experience prosperity. Therefore as believers we must heed the call of God and get back into position for our purpose or die in spiritual poverty.
