When Jesus walked the earth as God-made flesh, very few people recognized him for who he was. Christ didn’t announce himself either. Instead, he camouflaged himself with humility; he “hid” among the poor and the outcast. Because the person of Jesus didn’t correspond to the popular vision of a shining, powerful and triumphant God, most people did not recognize him at all.
So even when God took on human form, God was in hiding? But why?
Yet once we develop our vision, it becomes obvious: There is nowhere on earth that God isn’t. Perhaps God waits, like my grandkids in the linen closet, so excited to know that we are on the other side of the door, searching, growing ever closer to finding God in unexpected ways and places. Or maybe the whole point is in learning to see what is right there in front of us.
What if seeing God at work in the world was not only possible, but as simple and beautiful as child’s play? And what if that innocent, trusting spirit and those wide-open eyes are God’s deepest wishes for us?
This message is excerpted from “Wonderfully hidden” by Elise Seyfried in the November/December 2022 Gather magazine. Today is the 16th Sunday after Pentecost.
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