Who doesn’t like a good game of Hide-and-Seek? Many of us do not play this game anymore, but we have fond memories of doing so. It is a challenge to find new and better hiding places in which to remain undetected until the opportunity comes to make a dash for “home base.” It is a challenge to be “it” and have to explore the nooks and crannies wherever someone may be hiding; then to suddenly chase one who is running for safety. (We played it as a modified game of “tag.”)
Seeking and finding in that game is not difficult, really. It only requires persistence. The person who is hiding will be found, if you just open the right door, disclosing where they are. Or, perhaps they are behind the drapes, or under the bed. Wherever they are, once you come to that place, they cannot remain hidden. In the Bible, a person’s relationship with God is described as a sort of “seeking” and “finding” Him. For example, in Acts 17, Paul described non-Jewish and non-Christian religions as a form of “groping after” God (v. 27). They were seeking, but not yet able to find God. In another place, God Himself invites people to seek Him, and He promises that they will be able to find Him. However, we need to understand that finding God is not like finding someone in a game of Hide-and-Seek. God is not anywhere that we can expose Him, forcing Him to come out of hiding. He is not merely behind some door, or up in a tree, or on a mountain, or at the conclusion of a list of religious practices. God will only be found when He chooses to be found, when He allows us to know Him. So, it is also important for us to understand that God has promised to make Himself known only to those who are a certain kind of seeker. He has said that He will only be found by those who seek Him in order to know and do His will (Prov. 8:17). If we seek Him for what we already have in mind to do or be, He will withhold Himself still (Hos. 5:6). Only if we humble ourselves, intent on submitting in obedience to His will whatever that may be, will we be blessed to find God.
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AuthorNathan Wheeler, PhD, is the Preacher for the Eastside Church of Christ in Farming-ton, NM. Archives
April 2020
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