"You can't see me!"

Playing Hide and Seek with our two little ones is our latest task as grandparents. Our little Teddybear, the youngest, still hasn’t got the knack of hiding, or not telling where his sister is hiding.

Adults laugh at that flat misunderstanding. But don’t we do the same?

We play a similar game with the living God, hiding our wrongs and sweeping the truth about ourselves under the carpet. We fool ourselves into thinking we are good, well, at least OK...We attempt to hide our guilt behind acceptable outward facades and denials.

To no avail. That tree won't cut it!

Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think,     “Who sees us? Who will know?”      Isaiah 29:15,16

Our plans are full of ourselves, not necessarily ‘evil’ but full of self-will. And we think we are putting on a good act too -- until others catch on, see through the mask, or discover the truth.  No parent can miss the chocolate smear around a mouth devouring forbidden sweets. And more importantly, others around us are not the only ones who find out.

"Who will know?" we think to ourselves.

HE will know! The God who calls you to Himself.

We cannot escape the All-Seeing Eye trying to cover our secret thoughts and moral shortcuts made along the way. We cannot escape the One who sees the lies staining us and the damage they do to everything and everyone around us.

“I can manage myself!” “The family will understand…”

Truth is, this is worse than just a child's dirty mouth needing a wipe after a chocolate bar, it is a permanent dye marking our guilt. It is sin.

But we can come out from behind the paltry excuse of a tree we think is hiding us.

The all-knowing God is ready to hear, “You have found me out!”

He wants to hear, “Please forgive me! Make me in the image of your Son!”

True repentance is our only recourse. We had buried both his words of love and warning in the past. They had been hidden too, like a child's toy in plain sight but ignored.

Now something wondrous happens:

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18

He rises from the place we had left behind, hidden from our daily conscious lives. He rises to heal and to scrub clean that which was stained!  Undeserved grace is extended to us! A new beginning to a new life.

Come out from your hiding place. Wait for him to rise in your life, take you into his arms and swing you around in joy, as we do when Teddy 'tells' us where he has hidden, chocolate mouth and all!

Image of unknown photographer, found on Pinterest.