Hide in the Lord

One of the first effects of sin is the tendency to hide. Adam and Eve hid from God after their act of disobeying God. Little children cover their mouth quickly in moments of lying. Office workers when trying to hide their misdeeds tell untruths so that they will not be found out. People committing crimes try to cover their tracks and go into hiding. All of these are results of sins committed directly. The other effect is the reaction to the sins, to run away from facing the trauma, the truth of ugliness. Such a hiding effect is brought out succinctly by Mark Galli in the latest ChristianityToday article Peace in a world of Massacre. In his article, he talks about hiding in all aspects of our lives, and especially during this traumatic time after the Virginia Tech massacre.

Galli suggests that "If hiding from fear is the universal human condition, then stepping out into the place of fear is at the heart of Christ's call on us." That is good advice. The way to address our human condition is to recognize that hiding is very much a part of our fallen nature. We cannot self-prescribe ourselves hiding alternatives. The only way to remain human is to be reconciled with God and with one another in God. This world is a dangerous place to live, and the killings tell us again that man is man's worst enemy. My heart goes out to those in mourning and weeping. In this moment of solidarity with them as a member of humanity, I'll pray for and with them. That we will all embrace our human weaknesses by being open with one another. Rather than letting our fears push us to an eternal game of 'hide-and-seek', perhaps we need to enter into many moments of "reveal-and-find" and to help one another build authentic and real relationships.

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. (Ps 32:7)

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