Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.

When I was a child I would hide what I was doing from my parents. I instinctively knew it was wrong, but I would do it anyway. That was long before I read about Adam and Eve hiding from God. I knew what shame was, I knew I was a disappointment.

How do we offer correction to our children without instilling the emotions of disappointment or cementing those fears in their hearts? If I look to my parents for an example of how to accomplish this, I would fail. That is my past and the cycle of inappropriate correction has to be broken. That is why I have to look at God’s reaction and try to duplicate His approach to reproach.

Genesis 3:9-10 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

The first thing God accomplished was to communicate concern about His relationship with His creation. So often we move right on into the punishment and neglect to check the emotions of the offender. Adam was afraid, exposed and ashamed. There is confession of condition within Adam’s words brought about by tending to the needs of the relationship first by God. If we are to correct the condition of the heart in our wayward children, then we must first understand the condition of the offender’s heart.

Genesis 3:14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Here is a part often overlooked by parents. God dealt with their excuses for the sin committed.