Pondering God XV: God’s Omnipresence

The Bible tells us that there is no place we can hide from God. Most would think that this is a scary proposition. The truth is that the only reason you should be scared is if you have a reason to be. Why would you have to a fear a loving and just God…unless you are doing something wrong or something you shouldn’t be? There is a reason you have a guilty conscience or are weighted down with shame. They are warning signs in a carefully crafted warning system that God made intrinsic to our nature to let us know what is morally correct. When we have a reason to fear an omnipresent God it is because of sin. Sin adds a monkey wrench to the relationship with a Holy God. If we are scared it is because we are in a situation similar to the time in the Garden when Adam was scared of God after he sinned.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." ~ Genesis 3:8-10

So why was Adam scared? He had turned to his own ways and turned his back on God. He (and Eve) disobeyed God and subsequently fled from His presence. Why is this so tragic? They were filled with shame and were conscious of their own guilt, and dread of judgment, instead of running to God in mercy begging for His grace, they foolishly attempted to run away from him, who is impossible to avoid since He is omnipresent. The evangelist Billy Sunday once said that a sinner can't find God for the same reason criminals can't find policemen.

If you love God you will obey His commandments. The natural state of man’s mind is enmity against God. God created us in order that we might have a relationship with Him. The reason some feel so empty without God is because we were created for this relationship in particular. When this relationship with the Lord doesn’t materialize it leaves us spiritually empty of in a spiritual vacuum. If this vacuum is not filled with God something else fills His place, usually and idol or evil. Evil works best and roams free in the absence of things that are ontologically good. If you are going to flee something, flee evil. At least you’ll have a chance of getting away by residing in Christ. If you try to flee the Lord the chance of getting away from Him is 0%.