Musings of a Prodigal Son - God Knows Where You Are

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. (Revelation 3:14-18)

God Knows Where You Are......He Was There First

In the Garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God, God asked them this question, "Where are thou?" or as we used to say in the country, "Where you at?" or "Where you be?" Life is a quest for each of us to admit where we are. For us to admit to God where we are , we have to first know where we are. He already knows. He wants us to know. He also wants us to know that he knows. That's alot of knows. Much of my life has been spent with God asking, "Rodney, where are you?" God wanted to remind me that it was important for me to know. If I am far from Him, I need to know that. If I am about to move further away from Him, I need to know that too. He is not there to condemn me for where I am but rather to help me get back to where I need to be. Adam and Eve sinned and it separated them from God. The further we get from God, the less likely we are to know how far we are away from him. The further I am "from the heart of the matter", the less likely I am to feel the pain that my sin is causing God. Don't forget that Sin is "separation" from God. Any act, either by commission or omission, which results in separation from God is Sin. Sin also separates us from God in others. It distances us from the light of God in those around us. It blinds us to the truth. Remember the tragic condition of the church at Laodicea in the new testament. They were neither hot nor cold but luke warm and DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT. The danger of sin is that it blinds us to the truth. It makes us think that everything is ok, when it is not. It gets us used to the darkness so that it doesn't appear as "dark." What I am about to share may appear to be an odd example but it is relevant. I used to drink only "sweet" sodas (cokes, pepsi, dr. pepper, etc.). Several years ago, due to medical history, I began to drink sugar-free soda. Now when I drink even a small amount of "sweet" soda, the taste of the sugar is overwhelming and I am aware that the sugar is there in abundance. When I used to drink sweet soda on a regular basis, it became "normal" and I liked the taste. Now I am repelled by it. The point is, by eliminating or attempting to eliminate something, you become more sensitive to it. When we practice a lifestyle that attempts to follow Christ, we eliminate sin from our lives as a practice (though never completely). It makes us more sensitive to sin when we encounter it. We recognize it better. In other words, we know better where we really are. So God asks me, "Where art thou?" My task is to become aware of who and where I REALLY AM AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE. That means I am not to judge where I am by my experience but by the WORD OF GOD and HIS TRUTH.  The world is constantly giving us messages of where we need to be and what we need to think (the media, television, businesses, motivational speakers, politicians, rights advocates, etc). God wants us to determine where we are according to HIS WILL and HIS WORD.


So many things that are Sin are "normalized" today. Don't be deceived. God's Truth has never changed. No matter how many voices are speaking things contrary to His Truth, the Truth still remains. Let's let HIS TRUTH be our guide so that when He asks, "Where are you?", we will know.