He Came Looking
Genesis 3:9 · James 1:17 (NIV)
On the evening of October 31, 1512, Pope Julius II led a prayer service in the Sistine Chapel in Rome. It was the first service of All Saints. Above him was a new ceiling. Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Florentine artist, had signed the contract for it in May 1508. He saw himself as a sculptor. He was reluctant to take the job. He painted it anyway, over four years. The Vatican Museums say the work was finished by October 31. On the next morning, All Saints' Day, the pope celebrated Mass beneath it.
Five hundred years later, Pope Benedict XVI marked the date at an evening service. He said, "it is the light of God that illuminates these frescoes."
The center of the ceiling tells the first chapters of Genesis in nine scenes. In one, GOD sets the sun and moon in place. In the most famous one, GOD stretches out HIS arm toward Adam. Adam lifts his hand only halfway. Their fingers almost touch. The image draws our attention to GOD’s initiative.
That picture tells the truth about GOD. Genesis 3 tells it again after everything goes wrong. Adam and Eve eat what GOD told them not to eat. They cover themselves. They run from HIM. Then comes one of the most tender lines in Scripture: "But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" (Genesis 3:9).
GOD knew where Adam was. The question was an open hand. It was GOD reaching again.
A bishop named Irenaeus led the church in Lyon, in what is now France, around AD 180. In Against Heresies, Book IV, chapter 10, he wrote that in the books of Moses "the Son of God is implanted everywhere throughout his writings." He traced the Son through the old stories. The Son spoke with Abraham. HE gave Noah the measure of the ark. HE came "inquiring after Adam." HE spoke "with Moses from the bush." Irenaeus added, "it would be endless to recount [the occasions] upon which the Son of God is shown forth by Moses."
For Irenaeus, the voice that asked "Where are you?" belongs to Jesus. The One who reached in Genesis is the One who later walked the roads of Galilee.
Today's readings stand on the same ground. Psalm 89 bears the name of Ethan the Ezrahite. It holds together praise for GOD’s promise and anguish over the fall of David’s throne. He still opens with a song: "I will sing of the LORD's great love forever" (Psalm 89:1). He hears GOD say of David's line, "but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness" (Psalm 89:33). GOD’s promise rests on HIS faithfulness.
Jesus speaks about a father and his son. "Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" (Matthew 7:9). Then Jesus asks a bigger question: "how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11). GOD has given us HIS Son.
James names where every good thing starts. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (James 1:17). The GOD who set the sun and moon in the sky does not flicker. HIS reach toward us does not shrink when we pull back.
Fear of losing approval can shape our choices. The Proverbs say, "Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe" (Proverbs 29:25). The very next verse says, "Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the LORD that one gets justice" (Proverbs 29:26).
Michelangelo painted for a powerful pope. He worked under the eyes of the most important patron in Rome. Yet the ceiling he left points past every patron. It points to one hand stretched toward a man who could barely lift his own.
That ceiling has been open for 514 years. Visitors tilt their heads back to see it. Many look for that small gap between two fingers. In CHRIST, GOD brings us into fellowship with HIMSELF. HE asks the first question. HE gave the Son before anyone thought to ask. The reach of GOD came before any reach of ours, and it still does.
The hand reaching toward Adam leads into this Sunday’s Sabbath, The Faithful Witness. On All Saints’ Day, we follow that same love through the testimony of those who came before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus. Read the Sabbath preview and request the full reflection and music →
It does leave me thinking about how often GOD's first word to us is a question with an open hand.
The Father’s care begins before our explanations. We can bring our unfinished prayers to HIM today, trusting the love made known in CHRIST.
I am not here to prove myself. I am here to make HIM visible.
🙏 To the one who is running and hoping not to be found, HE is still asking, "Where are you?"
🙏 To the one who works hard for people who never say thank you, it is the Lord Christ you are serving.
🙏 To the one whose prayer has not been answered the way you hoped, the Father of the heavenly lights does not change.
🙏 To the one too tired to lift a hand, GOD has already reached across the gap.
Grace and Peace.