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Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 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, \u201cWhere are you?\u201d (Genesis 3:7-9)

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Christmas was not the first time God came to his people.\xa0

They say that your character is whatever spills out when you hit a bump in the road.\xa0 Or, to say it differently: you really find out what kind of person someone is when a bad thing happens to them.\xa0 Do they get angry and shout?\xa0 Do they swear?\xa0 Do they blame other people?\xa0 Do they pray?\xa0 Do they forgive?\xa0 Do they seek to make things better?

God\u2019s character spilled out already in Genesis 3.\xa0 So did Adam and Eve\u2019s.\xa0 We get a picture here of what kind of people all of us people are, and what kind of God our God is.

When sin first enters the world, Adam and Eve hide from God.\xa0 A bad thing had happened to them: not only had they disobeyed God, but they realized that God could see them and find out what had happened.\xa0 They were naked, vulnerable, visible.\xa0 So they hid!\xa0 They didn\u2019t want God to know what they had done or who they were.

But when God faced this same bad thing of Adam and Eve disobeying, he didn\u2019t get angry and shout and he didn\u2019t leave Adam and Eve either.\xa0 Instead, God looked for them.\xa0 He went out to call for them and to find them.\xa0 God went to be with them.\xa0\xa0\xa0

A bad thing had happened between Adam & Eve and God: disobedience.\xa0 Sin.\xa0 A sin we continue to struggle with and that continues to make us want to hide.\xa0 But God is not the kind of God to remain separate from his people.\xa0 He calls to us and searches for us until he finds us.\xa0 Jesus, as the good shepherd, continues to do the same.\xa0 He searches for his lost sheep until he finds them so he can be with them rejoicing.

On my ornament for today, I\u2019m drawing a picture of the Garden of Eden and writing the words \u201cwhere are you?\u201d to remind me that God is always searching for me, always seeking to restore whatever has been broken between us.\xa0 What will you draw or write on your ornament?\xa0 Remember, you can find the PDF of blank ornaments on our website, here.

As for a way to be the hands and feet of Jesus today, here\u2019s what I\u2019d invite you to do:\xa0 Is there a family member that you haven\u2019t talked to in a long time?\xa0 An aunt, uncle, grandparent, cousin?\xa0 A brother?\xa0 A sister?\xa0 A parent?\xa0 A child?\xa0 Today\u2019s the day.\xa0 Pick up the phone.\xa0 Send a message.\xa0 Reach out.\xa0\xa0\xa0

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