The phrase “the shot heard round the world” comes from the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem “Concord Hymn.”
“Here, once the embattled farmers stood and fired, the shot heard round the world.”
The phrase refers to the first shot of the American Revolutionary War, the war for independence.
But that is not the phrase that I am talking about. My focus is not on the shot but on the shout, as in the shout heard around the world.
The shout I am talking about was first directed to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They had broken one of the instructions God had given them (there were only 2.) They had eaten the fruit they were told not to eat. Afterward, they knew they had disobeyed God. In their shame, they went into hiding. The book of Genesis records that God then shouted to them, “Where are you?”
God went looking for them. Although God knew where they were hiding, He called out for them. He wanted to show them His love for them despite their rebellion. He was not searching for them to punish them but wanted to save them from the death they deserved due to their sin.
Paul tells us in Romans 6 verse 23,
The wages of sin is death …
He saved them from their death by the death of an animal on the altar.
Humanity’s sin must be covered by death. Before Yeshua, animal sacrifice had to be made repeatedly, for they sinned repeatedly, and each sin deserved death. Eventually, God sent His Son, Yeshua, two thousand years ago to become that perfect sacrifice. He was the perfect, sinless human (as opposed to an innocent animal) and made the one sacrifice that could take away the multiple sins of multiple humans. Paul continues in Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That gift will allow us to walk with Him again in the Garden.
His shout continues around the world today. He is looking for you. As with Adam, it is not because He does not know where you are. He knows exactly where you are, who you are, and what you have done. You are His creation. He loves you because He created you in His perfect love. He is your Father.
Do not hide in fear from your Father. He is calling, “My child, where are you? I have provided my Son Yeshua, as payment for your sin.” Answer His call with ”Here I am.” Accept His love. Confess that you also have sinned and deserve death and that Yeshua’s death is the required sacrifice for your sins.
