Code Adam

"Attention all booksellers. We have a Code Adam. Will please proceed to the door." If the words hadn't caught my attention, the urgency in her voice would have grabbed it.

Announcements over the speaker are pretty common. Typically, they are things like "Bookseller to the cafe at your convenience" or "Assistance to customer service."

Code Adam was not the usual message.

Named for Adam Walsh who disappeared many years ago, "Code Adam" meant that we had a missing child hopefully still in the store. We were to go to customer service to get the description. Will would keep people from exiting.

There was a great sigh of relief when seconds later, before most of us could make it to customer service, Code Adam was canceled. The missing child had been found.

I hate seeing these kinds of fliers on telephone poles and bulletin boards. They too often mean that a much loved pet is missing. Canvasing the neighborhood with fliers is often the only way to get the word out.

The last few days I've been reflecting on the Adam and Eve's pre-fall days in the Garden of Eden. But my thoughts have also been mixed with all things lost: pets, keys, a book. And as I've thought about it, the moment Adam and Eve chose to eat the fruit of the tree, they became lost.

I have no doubt in my mind that a heavenly "Code Adam" was called for these first lost children. All of heaven probably held their breath to see what God would do. Adam and Even hide in the garden. And God confronts their sin/their sense of being lost or separated from God. The Bible is clear that sin makes God angry and there are definite consequences for their sin. God's anger is not what strikes me but rather a deep sense of sadness. As Adam and Eve hide, God walks into the garden and this is what follows in Genesis 3:8-10 (NIV):

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord as he was walking 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?

He answered, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

The rest of the verses has God drawing out through careful questions the story of what the serpent had said and the choices Adam and Eve had made. Yes, there are consequences and it says that God drove the man out of the garden.

But at that moment, I believe God grieved for his lost children. Throughout the Old Testament God is calling to his people to come back. He is actively seeking them to bring them home again, preparing the way for Jesus.

The original "Code Adam" was for two wayward children -- Adam and Eve. I wouldn't be surprised to discover that God had Adam and Eve's picture plastered through heaven and labeled "Lost." Every person born after that was labeled lost as well. All God longs to do is spray paint "FOUND" over each one.

It's nearing Christmas, but the heart of Christmas is not that baby. Rather, it was Jesus knowing fully that every beat of his human heart would take him closer to the cross and He did not turn away because you and I were lost.

Who do you know that has a heavenly lost poster plastered through heaven?

In what way can you share with them what it is like to be found?

If you feel you are one of the lost ones, won't you contact me or someone else from the Internet Cafe so we can share with you the joy of being found in and by God?

God's Work In Progress,

This year I'm focusing on hope. I'd love for you to visit my personal blog: