I had a friend many years ago whose father’s vehicle went off an embankment and ended up in a deep river. His body was never found. Now, although these occurrences are not uncommon, it seemed the much more so, for many who knew him, and his wife, all agreed that this was more than likely not an accident, and if given the opportunity, many of the men said they would do the same thing in his situation. “It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.” (Prov. 25:24)
This short letter is not about contentious women, and to put it bluntly, men who will not assume the authority of their own household, in love of course, but is instead about hiding, or trying to escape. “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Psalm 139:7) “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” (Rev. 6:16)
This is what people do, all of the lost, and many who claim Jesus Christ as Lord, they try to run and hide from Him who is everywhere, at all times. The lost are either self-deceived or deceived by Satan that they are good enough, if indeed there is a Sovereign Lord over all creation, to enter into His kingdom, and those who only profess Him with their lips, (Matt. 15:8) and sadly many who are indeed saved, try to hide from their known responsibilities to the Most High. Both, when there is at least a modicum of just who the Lord of all creation is, attempt to do this by some form of works.
The lost do so by attempting, at least in their eyes, to live what they consider a “good life,” polite, kind, caring and concerned about not only others, but life in general and all those things in the world that they interact with. Endless organizations come and go that give them these opportunities to express the moral correctness that they envision within themselves as it will pertain to how God sees them. Assisting other people, animals, the planet as a whole, the list is virtually endless for them to express by their actions that they are “good enough.”
Those of the religious tenets, and sadly many who follow Christ, will adhere to all of these examples of actions, adding on top of them all the prescribed ideological attributes that the organized church they belong to says are also a requirement to attract the favor of God. From counting beads, to observing “special days,” being to church on time, adhering to all of the traditions of their church with a type of “Spiritual solemnity,” everything but the action of unquestioning, unwavering faith. “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” (Gal. 3:6)
Read Hebrews chapter Eleven, and you will see these words pronounced as a crown upon the heads of all who are mentioned there, “By Faith.” Those who serve Jesus Christ as Lord, Master and Savior, never run, never hide from His face. Job ran to Him when the world crashed around him, Joshua and the people sought His face after losing the battle at AI, (Joshua 7:6) David repented after Nathan said, “Thou art the man.” (2 Sam. 12:7) After the rooster crowed, Peter went before Him and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:62)
You can try to run from the Lord, but you will fail, you can try to hide, to shirk your known responsibilities, but you will be found out. There is no place that we can go from His presence, the lost will suffer an eternity of torment for not accepting this truth, many who do know Him as Lord will lose most, if not all their rewards. (2 John 1:8) Humble servitude, with the acknowledgement that the Lord God always does what is best for us and for His glory is the only path that leads to the kingdom of God. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12)
