Hide and Seek

It was a simple game that revealed a profound truth.

Tiny hands covered little eyes, as my granddaughter chose to be the “seeker” in the game. “No peeking!” I declared, watching her hands part slightly to gain an advantage.  She squealed with delight.

It didn’t take long for her to discover my hiding place and announce that it was her turn to hide.  I covered my eyes and began the count, separating my hands slightly so she could recite the rules and I could linger in her laughter. Assuring her that I could not see, I cupped my hands tightly around opened eyes.  I was engulfed in darkness.  Though I sensed her moving about, my lack of vision prevented me from finding her.  For that to happen, I needed sight.  And so it is with life.

Many people spend a lot of time stumbling around in spiritual darkness, convinced that condition is as harmless as a game, but the reality is ~ it’s not. Proverbs 29:18 says “Where there is no vision the people perish …”  It’s easy to read the sentence and miss the message ~ until we read the definition of perish.  It means “to suffer death, typically in a violent, sudden or untimely way; to suffer complete ruin or destruction”.   Spiritual darkness is not a condition to play with.  Nor is it the desire of God that we remain there.  He has gone to great lengths to uncover our eyes and shed light into that darkness, but He won’t force us to accept it.  Though Sovereign, we have been given the free will to decide our outcome – life through Jesus or death through rejection of Him.

As hard as it is to comprehend, some willfully choose to remain in darkness.  There are myriad excuses given, but Jesus tells us why:  “…men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”  (John 3:19-20) 

No one is exempt from sin.  The difference between the believer and unbeliever is vision. Both know the pain of sin, but only the believer is able to glimpse eternity through faith in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.  Of course no one wants their sin exposed because it causes shame … and it should. But hiding doesn’t improve our condition. Rather, it prevents us from drawing closer to the One who already knows all that we have done, yet tenderly seeks to bring light to our darkness and vision to our souls.

Godly vision changes everything.  It illuminates our surroundings, clarifies truth and dispels fears.  It encourages purpose in living and assurance of the hope that is on the horizon.  It allows us to move forward with confidence and ultimately leads us to find that God is waiting to receive His children with joy.

Are you walking in the light or stumbling in the dark?  If its the latter, deliberately hiding from God may seem inconsequential, but it is a lost and lonely place to be.  Jesus knows where you are and has already gone to extraordinary lengths to assure you that His grace can lift you from the shadow of death.  The decision is yours, but the time to make it is not indefinite.

Ready or not, a day is coming when Jesus will return.  May you be among those with vision.