Genesis 3:8 – And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (RSV)

Revelation 21:3-4 – Behold the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away. (RSV)

Hide and seek was one of my favourite childhood games. I was pretty good at it, the hiding part that is. Sometimes I was too good, for while I hid scrunched in some miserable position, like a sardine pressed between the car doors and garage wall, or tucked away like a blanket on some upper closet shelf, I could hear the laughter and happy voices of those discovering and being discovered, of the one finding and those already found, and I knew I was more the loser than the winner in the game.

Have we let ourselves be found by God, or are we still in hiding? Are we hiding in our own righteousness, as if we had something worth mentioning before God? Or are we hiding in our own shame, refusing to let His blood wash every sin away? Are we hiding in fear, wondering if God can even be trusted? He can be trusted. He won't hurt us like other people have hurt us. He won't disappoint us like we've disappointed ourselves. He alone is faithful and true. What are we waiting for? It's time to come out of hiding and share in His joy. Can we hear the happy voices?

Prayer: Father, God, we are so tired of hiding. It's so lonely here. We want to come back into your presence. Jesus, reach out your arms and hold us in your unfailing love. Let your light shine all around us. Let your blood wash over us and cleanse us. Once we were lost, but now we're found. Thank you Jesus! We won't hide from you any more. Amen.

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