Hide and Seek – March 2, 2023

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Genesis 3:9,10

Hide and Seek

Do you remember playing hide and seek? Many parents have loved playing that simple game with their young children. Dad or mom would often hide in obvious places, but the toddlers were so happy to find the parent that they would giggle with delight. They were so cute when they played that game.

It is not so cute when we play hide and seek with God. He is always calling out to us in his Word, but we tend to hide, even as adults. Maybe we feel guilty for not being in God’s house more often. Maybe we don’t want to address our own life choices that we know aren’t God pleasing. Maybe we are angry at God or one of his representatives. And so we hide. And like when our parents hid from us as toddlers, we hide from God in rather obvious places: places like work, Netflix, excuses, and even kids’ sports. While we think we are conveniently unable to make time for God, it is all painfully obvious to him that we are trying to hide. He knows exactly where we are and what we are thinking.

And by a miracle of his grace, he still seeks us. He still comes to find us even though he knows all our sin and all our guilt. In love, he seeks to find and save us. That is exactly why he sent Jesus into this world to be our Savior. A Savior who was willing to suffer and die to pay for all of our sins. A Savior who would pay for and remove all our sin, guilt, and shame so that we could now have a right relationship with God. Because of Jesus and his work for us, there is no reason to hide. No reason to fear coming back to God.

So maybe it is time to stop hiding. Come out, come out, wherever you are! Find free grace and forgiveness from God through Jesus.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, forgive me for the times when I hide from you and your Word. Thank you for taking my sins away. Enable me to come back to you every day. Amen.