Opened to Earth, Closed to Heaven
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.
— Genesis 3:8
If you happen to hear a dirty joke and don't get it, way to go. All too often, we know more about this wicked world than we need to know. And we know far too less about God's Word, which we need to grow. Writing to the believers in Rome, the apostle Paul said, "I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil" (Romans 16:19).
When Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened to Earth and closed to Heaven. Then God showed up. It appears from the way it is stated in the text that this was a daily occurrence. And normally it would have been a welcomed visit. But this time Adam wasn't waiting for the Lord's arrival. Rather, he was hiding.
It's interesting to note when God came to Adam. It wasn't in the heat of the day, lest Adam would think God was coming to him in the heat of His passion. Nor did God come to Adam in the early morning, lest Adam would think God couldn't wait to punish him for his sin. No, God came to Adam in the cool of the day, loving and patient, yet hurt and demanding confession.
Sometimes when we sin, we will find a way to rationalize it. We might even assume that maybe God is okay with it because the consequences aren't yet evident. But God is never okay with sin. And know this: The Bible says, "Your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). If you were to translate that from the original language, it ultimately would read like this: Your sin will find you out. It will come out—maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe a month from now, or maybe ten years from now. But it will find you out.