WHERE ART THOU? by G.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 10, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 28.

“WHERE ART THOU?”

By G.

THE first missionary work done in behalf of fallen man was done in the Garden of Eden. The first recorded words of the Saviour, as He began the search for the lost, was, “Where art thou?” When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and saw that they were naked and disgraced in consequence of their sin, their first impulse was to hide from His presence. They never dreamed of seeking a restoration to His favor. They knew only the condemnation of the law, and their first experience in a consciousness of sin was “a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.”

Adam was not calling for help when the anxious Redeemer inquired, “Where art thou?” No, the Lord took the initiative in the search. The plan of salvation was already prepared, and no sooner had the man fallen than the Saviour went forth on His errand of mercy. It is a leading principle in the “mystery of godliness” that “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” Rom. 2:4. The basis of everything God does is love; because “God is love,” and “He can not deny Himself.” “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live thru Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:9, 10.

God had been wont to walk with Adam in his Eden home, as a father would visit a son, and not until the resident of the garden had shown himself disloyal was it necessary for the divine Visitor to seek him in any other manner. Never before had Adam and Eve endeavored to hide themselves from their heavenly Instructor. They had always looked upon their Creator as a friend and benefactor, and His presence was always welcomed with joy. Not till they arrayed themselves on the side of the adversary, and found that he had basely deceived them, did they experience any fear to hold communion with God. Up to this time they had loved to hear the “voice of the Lord God walking in the garden.” It is always the “carnal mind” that is “enmity against God,” and not subject to His law. Rom. 8:7.

From that first call to Adam down thru the ages to our own day, mercy has been calling to the lost race, “Where art thou?” “O sinner, come home!” Christ did not limit His rescue work to the beautiful Garden of Eden, nor to that noble specimen of manhood which had been created “upright” and pronounced “very good.” He is “able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him,” and “He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” The only thing that stands in the way of any person’s salvation, is his own will. God complained of Judah, “I have called unto them, but they have not answered.” Jer. 35:17. Jesus, with tears of weeping over Jerusalem, said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not.” Matt. 23:37.

The missionary work inaugurated in Eden meant the extreme of self-sacrifice and unparalleled humility on the part of Him who undertook the salvation of a lost race. To Him it meant not only a life of sorrow and acquaintance with grief, but it meant rejection and condemnation and death at the hand of those whom He was calling to life. He stooped so low in His ministry and self-denial, and in the manner of death to which He submitted, that every grade of humanity is without excuse. No one can say, “I am too low for Him to save; His blood can not cleanse me.” “Tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; tho they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isa. 1:18.

Christ not only took upon Him the nature of the human family, being made sin for us, but He humbled Himself to the lowest position among men. He came down to the level of the servant, making Himself of no reputation; yea, He was numbered with the transgressors; and executed between two malefactors. Not only did He die the Just for the unjust, but He did not shrink from the cruel death of the cross. Of this punishment Cicero says, “It was the most cruel and shameful of all punishments.” Stalker, an author of note, says, “It was the punishment reserved for slaves and for revolutionaries, whose end was intended to be marked by special infamy.”

When the great Missionary started out to redeem those who were condemned to death, He was not ignorant of what it meant to be lost. He knows what is in the heart of man; He knows, too, that a lost man does not know where he is, and is powerless to find the way home without a guide. If perchance he comes across a guide-book, he can not understand it without first finding where he is. Reader, where art thou? If you do not know just where you are, then you are lost. And if you are not firmly fixed on the Rock Christ Jesus, then you do not know where you are, and you are lost.

But do not be discouraged at discovering that you are lost; for that is the first requisite in your rescue. As long as you do not know you are lost, you will persist in going your own way. As soon as you realize your lost condition, you will be willing to be led. When you are ready to acknowledge that you are lost, stop right where you are. That is the spot where Christ will rescue you. He is seeking to save you; He sees you; He is calling to you. He is calling to you, “Turn ye, turn ye; for why will ye die?” Are you tired and weary in your wanderings? Are you hungering and thirsting for the bread and water of life? He is calling, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He is calling, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. . . . Incline your ear, and come unto Me; hear, and your soul shall live.” Isa. 55:1-3. He points to the “commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus,” and calls, “This is the way, walk ye in it.” G.