You Can Run But You Can't Hide....

[Roadside, 2009, JAVanDevender]

Jeremiah 23:23-24   " Am I a God near at hand," says the LORD, "And not a God afar off?  Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?" says the LORD; "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says the LORD.

It's pretty amazing the lengths we will go to deceive ourselves.

We think that if we keep cool, put on a face, act like stuff never happened, that the stupid things we do will not get noticed and we will get off Scot-free.

It doesn't work that way.... it has never worked that way... and the whole attitude constitutes that which Samuel Johnson called "the triumph of hope over experience."  "Be sure your sins will find you out? (Num. 32:23) God told Israel at one point and our common heritage certainly bears it out.  Yet we keep stuffing and squashing, we keep seeking to avoid the painful necessity of confession, we want to "just put the past behind us and get on with life...."  As I said... it never works that way.

It doesn't even work that way with people, much less God.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said that there is this  common Uber-Soul that connects all men together.  One of the side effects of this linkage is that there is a near infallible capacity in us to discern another person's character even when we can't put our finger on exactly what it is that give us the grounds for judgment.  We say of one person "I just don't trust them." Of another, though our acquaintance is slight, yet we are immediately comfortable with that one and would be prone to trust him or her in matters small or great.  Emerson's idea of the Uber-Soul doesn't thrill me very much but his observation is right on.  When we seek to hide behind a mask of some sort it will sooner or later become apparent that we are. 

How much more is God aware of our hypocrisy.  How much more does He before whom the hearts of men lie completely revealed know the things we do in secret.  We hide from the world's eyes but we can never hide from His.  What we do when no-one else is looking is not done in private after all... it is public knowledge in the Spiritual Realm.  He fills heaven and earth.  There is no depth beyond His gaze nor any height that is above His reach.  He sees all.  He knows all.  He is perfect in knowledge and perfect in discernment.

So what should we do?  Well, it's pretty apparent.  Stop hiding in plain view.  If our character is in doubt in one area, where we have sinned in some way, then why add the sin of deceitfulness and hypocrisy on top.  Confession before God and to those whom we have harmed brings with it the opening of our soul, the transparency that comes with sincerity.  It works in us to change us and to make us such that our life's witness is of a different, more noble character.  To hide our sins fools no one and hinders our own progress.  To acknowledge what is already known starts the process of healing.

God knows..  you can run but you can't hide... so why expend the energy uselessly?

Comments

[ut fire systems]

Now that is totally impressive!

[Generic Viagra]

Nice stuff you got, very interesting to read. Thanks for letting me know about it, I loved your articles. I will tell to my friends about this.

[coach purses]

Your blog is wonderful. I think more people need to read blogs like this. It's pretty much impressive to me. Looking forward to another great article.

[Oltl4me]

This is so true after some stories i heard today.