In his work Trees and Thorns, James Jordan raises the point, in relation to Genesis 3, that God did not immediately ask Adam whether or not he had disobeyed. Rather, that’s the third question that is asked. With the first question of “Where are you?”, God is essentially asking a question about relationship. Clearly it is estranged, since Adam is hiding from God among the trees. The second question, “Who told you that you were naked?”, is a question that relates to identity: Adam’s and God’s. God had made Adam naked, and he could not hide from the omniscient Creator. Then comes the the question to elicit a confession, “Have you eaten from the tree which I commanded you not eat?” Notice that the name of the tree is not specifically mentioned. Rather, the Lord describes the tree and couches the question in relation to Adam’s obedience or disobedience.
Setting the Lord’s approach to Adam before the eyes of our faith, I cannot help but wonder if there is not a pattern for our own confession displayed here. Certainly the bible has a lot more to say about the confession of sin, but what if we approach our own confession from the perspectives of relationship, identity, and obedience? This might sound overly simplistic, but what about approaching our children’s confession of sin this way, too? Instead of just asking them, “What’s your sin?” perhaps we would do well to ask them or remind them about their relationship to the Lord (and to you as a parent); their identity as a baptized believer and who God is; and then come to the matter of their disobedience. The Lord’s questions to Adam are asked in a context of remarkable grace and patience. God is there as Judge to be sure, but He is also there as Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God who does not fail, even when His people do. He is the Heavenly Father who will not abandon His first son, but who goes after him in order to restore him. Likewise, let our confession and the confession of our children be made in the same context of love and mercy.