We all grew up playing it. Hide and seek.
The thing about the game was that we sure did like getting found a while lot more than we liked having to find. To seek. To count. One child against a score of others.
There really is no middle of the road here. You either despise this game or you love it.
The thrill of seeking and finding is exciting for some. Monotonous for others.
You either threw your hands up and said, "Woohoo!" when the game was called or you groaned in anticipation of having to be the one who would count, forever it seemed, and then had to go looking.
Some were easy to find. Some children went to the same place every time. You knew where to find them and you knew where to look. Then there were some who put a little more effort into it. The ones who found those tricky, unsuspecting places to hold up through the game.
Didn't you hate it when you couldn't end the game because you couldn't find that one kid?
The skinny, freakishly small kid who could hide in the most out of the way place that you just didn't think to look? Or, the strong kid who could climb up into a tree and be hidden by all the branches and leaves? He could sit up there all day and you'd never think about that spot.
The thing about the game was that we sure did like getting found a while lot more than we liked having to find. To seek. To count. One child against a score of others.
There really is no middle of the road here. You either despise this game or you love it.
The thrill of seeking and finding is exciting for some. Monotonous for others.
You either threw your hands up and said, "Woohoo!" when the game was called or you groaned in anticipation of having to be the one who would count, forever it seemed, and then had to go looking.
Some were easy to find. Some children went to the same place every time. You knew where to find them and you knew where to look. Then there were some who put a little more effort into it. The ones who found those tricky, unsuspecting places to hold up through the game.
Didn't you hate it when you couldn't end the game because you couldn't find that one kid?
The skinny, freakishly small kid who could hide in the most out of the way place that you just didn't think to look? Or, the strong kid who could climb up into a tree and be hidden by all the branches and leaves? He could sit up there all day and you'd never think about that spot.
1 Timothy 1:15
New International Version (NIV)
I could spend a lot of time telling you my horror story of growing up (and I did some back on Father's Day) but there is one person who has us all topped. The Apostle Paul. His life is an example of what it means to be 'hiding in plain sight'. Paul thought he was living for God. Paul thought he was doing the right thing. And, then the light came on. Not just figuratively either. Truly. The light came on in the sky and Paul's life was changed forever. When the light comes on there is no more hiding.
When Paul is saying that he is the worst of all sinners, it is not an excuses to keep on doing things that he knows is wrong. In his time and also in ours, there can be too much attention given to our old life where we hid from God. Too much glory given to past faults. Paul has heard many of his counterparts sharing and telling wild stories. He notes in other places in his writings that we should not boast of anything except the cross of Christ. Here, he puts all debates to rest. "I'm the worst, end of story" Paul's life was spent in persecution of those who followed Christ. Now, he is on the other side of he fence. He might be saying, "I played hide and seek with God. I lost. End of story."
Luke 19:10
New International Version (NIV)
As I sat here writing and preparing the thought crossed my mind. Does God to play hide and seek? He wants us, in our faith, to revert to the mindset of a child. "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enters the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18.3
Children like to play games. Children like to pretend they can hide and nobody sees them. The silliest is when a child will put their hands over their eyes and simply think that because they cannot see the person in front of them that means the person in front of them cannot see them either. Teaching my children to play hide and seek was a silly time. The same held true for Caleb and as it did for Gabby. We started with the hands over the eyes. Then we moved to the dining room table. (The favorite place to go and hide.) Every time they would go to the table and hide there. It was never hard to find them. Then we move on to not being quiet wile in the hiding spot. "Come and find me!" "Are you looking for me?""I'm in the bathroom!!!"
It can be a little scary to hide. We aren't sure if we are going to get found. We sit and we wait and we wonder what's going on out there. I return to my original question. Does God like to play hide and seek? I don't know if he likes it per say, but it is the reason he came. He came to seek. He came to find. He is the hide and seek champion and if you want to challenge him, go ahead. He came for this purpose. Putting him to the test will result in simply realizing that he is fulfilling his purpose. He will find you. And, he will not quit until he does.
John 3:17
New International Version (NIV)
In the Old Testament, their is one guy who knows the salvation in a mighty and personal way. King David. You might say he was "hiding in plain sight". He was king. He had it all. And, he squandered it all, over one woman married to another man. He was said to be "a man after God's own heart". Then he would know the seeking and saving power of God. Ascribed to David are many of the Psalms that we read. Psalm 139 is ascribed to him. Words maybe he writes after going through a seeking and finding experience.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Running from God, hiding and trying to flee from his presence can manifest itself in many ways. Andrew Durano from the Philippine knows this story all to well. In his personal testimony, he describes being infected with hepatitis at an early age, about 14. His family lived in a secluded, out of the way place in the southern most portion of the country and medical help was not easily attainable at that time. The youngest of 10 children, 7 boys and 3 girls, the disease would have a crippling effect on his life. As 'the runt of litter' in every sense of the word, he was not given much of a chance to survive or make it in this world.
In the midst of his tragic illness, he woke up one morning to go feed the chicken and discovered he could in fact walk without help. He could even run! His parents were amazed and the event was called a miracle. But instead of being drawn closer to God through the experience, he saw the instance as a chance to run and flee life where he had grown up. His family was a close knit, Christian community and the call to ministry had been on his life from an early age. But, he sought to leave. To go and study to become a lawyer. Through the events of moving away and finding a wife outside of their faith, he lost touch with his family for some time. His father abandoned hope of his son ever returning to a life of faith.
In 2003, however, things were about to change. Andrew spoke of this moment n his life "where he knew no God and did not not attend church at all. He uttered no prayers." He had a job within the local goverment of his city. One night as he sat outside looking up at the stars, the realization that he had missed something in life began to wash over himself. He remembered words that his father has spoken. He remembered life before he ran away and tried to make it on his own. That night on that rooftop, he felt the need for a savior. He cried out in forgiveness and found there was a God to met his need. He found his family again and community he was missing. There was a place to return home to and a family that loved him.
We all can find the hope and the help we need if we stop running. If we stop hiding from God and the love that we so dearly need. Do even realize we are running in the first place? Do we realize how much we need him? A simply game of hide and seek can turn deadly to our faith as we try to do things our own way. Then we realize we have ventured off too far and we don't know how to get back. But, God knows where we are. We can't hide from Him. He can't run from Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He wants to find us. He wants to help us. But we have to let Him. We have to want to be found. Maybe we have to cry out and let God know where we are. "I'm in the bathroom"
Reach out today. Open your heart. And, find what you've been missing.
Come out of your hiding place and find the full light of day.
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
Running from God, hiding and trying to flee from his presence can manifest itself in many ways. Andrew Durano from the Philippine knows this story all to well. In his personal testimony, he describes being infected with hepatitis at an early age, about 14. His family lived in a secluded, out of the way place in the southern most portion of the country and medical help was not easily attainable at that time. The youngest of 10 children, 7 boys and 3 girls, the disease would have a crippling effect on his life. As 'the runt of litter' in every sense of the word, he was not given much of a chance to survive or make it in this world.
In the midst of his tragic illness, he woke up one morning to go feed the chicken and discovered he could in fact walk without help. He could even run! His parents were amazed and the event was called a miracle. But instead of being drawn closer to God through the experience, he saw the instance as a chance to run and flee life where he had grown up. His family was a close knit, Christian community and the call to ministry had been on his life from an early age. But, he sought to leave. To go and study to become a lawyer. Through the events of moving away and finding a wife outside of their faith, he lost touch with his family for some time. His father abandoned hope of his son ever returning to a life of faith.
In 2003, however, things were about to change. Andrew spoke of this moment n his life "where he knew no God and did not not attend church at all. He uttered no prayers." He had a job within the local goverment of his city. One night as he sat outside looking up at the stars, the realization that he had missed something in life began to wash over himself. He remembered words that his father has spoken. He remembered life before he ran away and tried to make it on his own. That night on that rooftop, he felt the need for a savior. He cried out in forgiveness and found there was a God to met his need. He found his family again and community he was missing. There was a place to return home to and a family that loved him.
We all can find the hope and the help we need if we stop running. If we stop hiding from God and the love that we so dearly need. Do even realize we are running in the first place? Do we realize how much we need him? A simply game of hide and seek can turn deadly to our faith as we try to do things our own way. Then we realize we have ventured off too far and we don't know how to get back. But, God knows where we are. We can't hide from Him. He can't run from Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He wants to find us. He wants to help us. But we have to let Him. We have to want to be found. Maybe we have to cry out and let God know where we are. "I'm in the bathroom"
Reach out today. Open your heart. And, find what you've been missing.
Come out of your hiding place and find the full light of day.
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