You remember, don’t you? One person hides their eyes while the others hide behind trees or in bushes. If you were caught, you were “it” and you had to hide your eyes. Well, it was more fun than it sounds, and we played it a lot on warm Summer nights.
The hard part was finding a place to hide. It had to be bigger than you or you could not hide behind or within it.
Paul, having “renounced the hidden things of dishonesty,” wrote to Christians encouraging them to join him in manifesting, or revealing “the truth.” Can you imagine a Christian who wanted to hide the gospel, God’s truth? One might ask how the gospel can be “hid”? If it is God’s “power” unto salvation, Romans 1:16, how can a human hide it?
There’s the rub. It certainly is God’s “power”, but He placed it in the hands of humans. No one will be forced to hear the gospel. No one is forced to teach it, but if mankind is to hear God’s saving power, God’s people must tell it.
“…if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost,” 2 Corinthians 4:3.
Have you ever hidden the gospel? I don’t mean by hiding your Bible in the closet, but have you ever hidden God’s truth from others by your life, your words? How might we hide the gospel?
By Failing to Teach our Children
This has always been our mandate and our privilege. Moses wrote of Abraham’s desire to be a good father in Genesis 18:19:
“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”
Surely that would be a noble quest for every parent.
By Failing to Send out the Gospel
Many opportunities are within the sound of our voice today. We receive inquiries regularly from those who want to go to mission points all over the world, and Paul asked:
“..how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:15
The old adage, “OPPORTUNITY + CAPABILITY = RESPONSIBILITY” is a constant reminder of our obligation and privilege to take the word to those within our reach. To send those who will teach the word of God to those beyond our reach is also our obligation as well as our privilege. Do we really care about the lost? Are we willing to give and provide the means for others to “go”?
By Corrupting the Word
It does no good to teach a “gospel” that man has modified. Some add to God’s Word that which God does not require. Others exclude that which they do not like, hiding the whole truth from those who seek it. We must shape our will to His will. We must be willing to obey Him even when we prefer something else. We must not hide the gospel, for if we do, we hide it from the very ones who need it most – and risk the loss of our own soul.
By Failing to Reveal God’s Love
The way we speak to and treat others can effectively “hide” the gospel from them. When we are harsh in our words, insensitive to the needs of others and show little or no compassion for them, we are diminishing the gospel’s power.
The love of God must be seen in our actions and in our words. It was Jesus who said:
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another,” John 13:35.
How we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ will be a powerful means of showing the love of God. Who wants to live among those who are cranky and mean-spirited? Does that reflect God’s love? Of course it doesn’t, and when we exhibit that attitude we are hiding the gospel.
By Fear of Being Different
It may appear to many that peer pressure is a problem affecting primarily the young. All of us, however, must resist the temptation merely to blend in with the rest of the world. This is how we can be what Philippians 2:15 says Christians must be:
“..blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
This is the opposite of “hiding” the gospel. Instead of blending in with the world we must “shine as lights” to all who know us. By our words, our attitude, how we dress, where we go, what we do and what we read we can “shine as lights in the world.”
The game of Hide and Seek is a game for children, not adults. It is past time for all of us to be “the light of the world,” Matthew 5:14. Is your light hidden under a “bushel”? Why not let it shine? You can lead someone to Christ.
