Meeting Place

Photographed by Garrett Randolph

“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?”

-Genesis 3:8-9

When I was a young girl, I did not fully understand what “spending time with Jesus” meant. I thought it might consist of honest prayers and Bible reading at the least. But at night when I was restless, lonely, or angry, I would close my eyes and try to talk to the only one I knew was up listening to me—Jesus. I pictured a shoreline with Jesus and I sitting in the sand. There was a small coal grill with a fire lit in between us. He was cooking fish for us to eat. Looking back, this setting should have been a little odd to me, because outside of frozen fish sticks, I rarely ate fish as a child. These were not things familiar to my life experience at the time, however I never considered it as strange. It felt so natural and I experienced a tangible connection to Jesus in that place. If I came there with turmoil, I left in peace. He did not say much and I don’t believe I ever saw His face, I just knew it was Jesus. Over the years, this became my internal “meeting place” with Jesus whenever I ran to Him. It was not until college that I stumbled upon this in the last chapter of John:

“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.”

-John 21:4-12 NIV

I can only image how excited God was, waiting for the moment I would read this passage and realize that my meeting place with Jesus was real! All of this time, I thought it was just a peaceful thought I imaged or a weird thing I made up to make me feel closer to Jesus—like He actually wanted quality time with me. Things changed in that moment when I realized it was God that was initiating quality time with me. I cried out: “IT WAS YOU JESUS! You were actually speaking to me! You are the one who called me there!” Now it started to make sense— as to how things inside of me actually changed when I would go to that shoreline with Jesus in my spirit. I truly was meeting with God, my personal Lord and Savior. He created this meeting place for us to commune together. It was His idea, not mine. The amazing thing about our God is that He wants to have quality time and personal connection with EVERY PERSON! Genesis 3:8-9 displays how, from the beginning, the desire of God’s heart is to meet with ALL of us.

How is it that the very first thing God speaks to Adam and Eve after they sin, causing separation between God and mankind, was: “Where are you?”. God knew exactly what had transpired in the Garden and He also knew where they were hiding. But God chose to ask this question first out of everything He could have spoken to them, which reveals truth about the heart of The Father:

PURSUIT TO BE WITH US

Even in their sinful and shameful state, The Father sought out their position in a passion to meet with them. Sadly but mercifully, The Father had to send Adam and Even out of the Garden for their own good. If they were to then eat from the tree of life, they would live eternally in this state of separation from God (spiritual death; Genesis 3:22-23). God loved us too much to leave our relationship with Him in a state of eternal separation… The Father had a radical plan of Love in store! A plan that would restore His children back to His Presence again forever. He sent His Son Jesus to be our mediator and the only possible sacrifice to overcome the effects of our sin (John 3:16). Jesus took the penalty for our sin, washed us in forgiveness by His Blood, and brought us back into right standing with God that there may no longer be any separation. Jesus willingly laid down His life to be the bridge between us and The Father again. Because His Spirit lives within us Believers, we now get to meet with God face to face in every moment— just as in the Garden. Our spirit communing with His Spirit is now the intimate meeting place of God and His children.

In the beginning, The Father said:

“Where are you?”

After Jesus’ resurrection, The Son speaks:

“Come and have breakfast.”

Jesus Christ was the answer to the Father’s question from the beginning. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Father’s pursuit of intimacy towards His Children. When we spend time with someone, we come to deeply know one another. We are a witness to that person’s heart, life, and identity. As we meet with God in our spirit, we are personal witnesses of Jesus Christ! May we come and “have breakfast with Him”, living a life that flows from meeting with God face to face.