Where Are You? – Part 2
Have you found Lennox yet? We met him in Part 1. I spoke of how tempting it can be for us to hide our light so we won’t be seen as a Christian in a culture that seems to suddenly be against anything Christian.
When my granddaughter posted this picture on Facebook, she asked, “Can you find Lennox?” He’s hiding from me.”
I love this picture and have returned several times to take another look. Through it, the Lord showed me another way that we hide–or at least try to.
It reminded me of a little friend who hid in the closet because her disobedience led to an accident. She didn’t want to be found, because she knew her mother would not be pleased.
It’s also common for mothers of young children to go in the bathroom to sneak a private cookie. But their enjoyment is dampened because they feel guilty for not sharing with the kids.
I wonder how many of us hide—or think we’re hiding—because we don’t want anybody to know what we’re doing.
We know we are wrong, and we don’t want to be found out. Like Lennox, we act as if nobody sees, or will see, us. (Not that a mother is necessarily wrong to eat a cookie without sharing it, but she feels guilty anyway.)
We know what we’re choosing to do that displeases God. We also know the excuses we use to justify ourselves. After all, it isn’t hurting anyone else, or my transgression (sin) isn’t as serious as “theirs,” or we pretend that nobody knows.
We close our eyes, choosing not to acknowledge God, because we want to direct our own path (Prov. 3:6). That way, we can indulge in our secret desires. We almost convince ourselves that it doesn’t matter.
We conveniently forget that God looks out for His children. He will never leave us and is watching over us all the time—even when grieved at the choices we make.
But, it matters. We are fooling ourselves to think otherwise. We can’t hide from God any more than Adam and Eve did when they ate the forbidden fruit in the garden–the fruit they ate right before they tried to hide from God.
Why does it matter?
First, it matters because we reap what we sow. There are always consequences for wrong choices. Be
cause God is merciful and allows time for us to repent, the consequences are often delayed, but there will be personal consequences. They will relate directly to how great the infraction is or to how much impact is needed to get our attention.
Second, of greater importance than consequences is that it matters to God. Our heavenly Father loves us and wants the best for us. He’s grieved when we make choices that bring us harm rather than blessing. He doesn’t want us to self-destruct.
Even little wrong choices are grievous, because they desensitize us to wrong and separate us from the Lord. Both lead to even further wrongs. We know that is true with our children, but we fail to recognize when we do the same thing.
Third, I think what breaks God’s heart most is not the wrong action, but that we close Him out of our lives when we turn our backs on Him to pursue our desires. The union and the communion with Him is broken by our willful disobedience.
Our Father sent His only Son and Jesus gave His life so they could have intimate unity with us. How could they not grieve when our disobedience leads us to hide from them?
The longer we entertain our disobedient ways and the longer we remain hidden, the wider the schism grows between us and our Lord.
We may think our secret is hidden, but in time even others around us will know. “There is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (Lk. 12:2).
“God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 Jn. 1:5b-7)”
The glorious thing about following Jesus Christ is that any time we turn from evil—whether the infraction is tiny or horrendous—and run to Him, He will forgive us and cleanse us from sin.
He is waiting, longing to fellowship with us. He is waiting and watching, just as the father did for the prodigal son.
Jesus told us He’s knocking on our door, waiting for us to open it. He said, “’Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, an
d will dine with him, and he with Me (Rev. 3:20).
When we disobey, it’s natural to want to hide when we’ve disobeyed and know someone won’t be pleased, but The Lord is always ready to receive us back.
God’s love, fellowship, and life are waiting for those who confess and come back to Him.
So, the question is, “Where are you?” Are you enjoying the love and joy of communion with the Lord? If not, don’t keep Jesus waiting. He loves you and He’s standing at your door.