We’ve all played that childhood game, Hide and Seek. We count out our numbers, and when we open our eyes and look around, there is no one to be found.
Do we doubt our companions’ existence? When we begin to search and can’t find anyone, do we actually laugh at ourselves, saying, “There are no other people here, for I see no evidence of them. What a fool I have been!”? Or do we remain certain that we will find those for whom we search, if only we look hard enough? We are foolish indeed if we quit looking, just because the object of our search is not easily found. That is the point of the game!
In 1 Corinthians 1:20-29, God tells us why he hides from us and makes us search for him. He wishes to winnow the wheat from the chaff. The passage explains to us that God’s wisdom is not easily found in this world. There will be those who will write that God is dead; that Jesus was only a prophet. The wisdom of God will be a stumbling block to them. Those who doubt will seek him, and he will not be found.
We must look for Jesus with a pure heart, one that searches for God with the simple belief of a child. Although his words may sound like foolishness to the unbeliever, if we accept them, we will find our eternal salvation in him.
Even so, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 cautions us not to let anyone deceive us. In the end time there will be rebellions, and in the lawlessness, one will proclaim himself to be God. However, he will be a false god, one who exalts himself in order to hide the true message of God.
In the game of Hide and Seek, someone who stands in the open to be easily found is a disappointment, not a victory. We look up and yell, “Go hide! You are no fun!”
If we see a man who proclaims himself the Christ, and he makes the way so convenient that we no longer have to search for God, then how can he be the true Christ? If our redemption comes so easily to us, how can God know our hearts? We will be shallow and useless to him.
Yet, at some point there must come an end to the game. Hide and Seek is fun, but the point is to find the one for whom we search. Without hope of success, we will tire, and eventually we will turn away to something else.
Daniel 7:22 assures us that we will find the God for whom we search. The prophet declares that the Ancient of Days will be revealed to all creation at the judgment of the saints, and in that day, those who have continually searched for him will possess the kingdom of God.
God is not dead, nor was Jesus only a prophet. The Creator simply waits for us to find him. Even the Scriptures tell us to seek and we will find. Knock, and doors will be opened to us. If we give up on the search too quickly, we have thrown away the reality that God is out there, and he waits to be found.
Searching for the presence of God makes the moment we find him all the sweeter. He is the only good thing in this life worth searching for.
Copyright © 2013 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: D.25.13.vp