Genesis 3:7c, 8b …they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons… and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God…

When I was a small child we would play hide and go seek. If you did a really good job of hiding and the seeker could not find you, they would call out “Ollie, Ollie Oxen Free!” I never really gave it much thought as to why this term was used to signal that it was OK to come out from hiding. Well not until last night.

Once my older brother wanted to play with friends without his little brother tagging along. He asked me to play hide and seek and when I went to hide, he didn’t come looking for me. After a long time I realized he had gone elsewhere. It isn’t much fun to hide and no one is looking for you.

This gets us to today’s verses. Adam and Eve’s effort to cover their nakedness was woefully inadequate. They still felt shame and hid themselves. They knew their own efforts to restore righteousness was not getting the job done. This is the nature of fallen mankind. They hide themselves in the forest of shame. They hide behind pride, intellect or knowledge. They hide behind false religions, or misapplied beliefs.. They hide behind work, alcohol, drugs, lust and a long list of things that they place between themselves the face of God.

It isn’t fun when no one is looking for you. This is the great lie of Satan, that God isn’t looking for you. The truth is that God is seeking you. God is crying out “Ollie, Ollie, Oxen Free!” How does that sound? A lot like John 3:16 to tell you the truth. That “Oxen Free” is the sacrifice Christ made for your sins.

What are you hiding behind?