Hidden

“A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”  Matthew 5:14

Hidden – There are a lot of secrets in the New Testament.  There are secret thoughts (Romans 2:16), secret sins (2 Cor. 2:4), secret places (Luke 11:33), secret worship (Matthew 6:4) and secret treasures (Col. 2:3).  But some things just can’t be kept secret.  Some things are right out in the open because their very nature is to be revealed.  That is the situation with a city on a hill.  It is intended to be seen.  It’s whole purpose for being on the hill is to be viewed by others.  So, says Jesus, is the purpose of your life as a follower.  You are built for the purpose of being seen.  And there are plenty of observers.

During World War II, the Boeing airfield in Seattle was considered a target for Japanese attack.  It was easy to see.  A long runway with plenty of airplane hangers.  How do you camouflage an airfield?  The Army put up telephone poles all over the property and attached a huge canvas to the top of all those poles, just like a giant circus tent.  Painted on that canvas was a scene of ordinary city streets, cars and buildings.  From high above, it looked like typical city blocks, not like a runway.  Making it look just like the surroundings hid reality.

Sometimes I think that we Christians live under a big tent.  We have the truth about creation, the facts about the design of the universe, the answer to life’s biggest questions and a relationship to the only Person in the universe Who can rescue us.  But instead of turning on the searchlights so that others can find us, we build big tents over the truth.  We make ourselves look like everyone else.  We paint our lives so that we will blend in rather than stand out.  We dress according to Vogue or Geo, we watch the hot television shows, we buy this year’s consumables, we speak in the same clichés, we set the same priorities.  As far as anyone would know, from far above we look just like the rest of the world.

Jesus says that this behavior is not part of the original design at all.  We are not krubenai – not hidden.  Everything about being a follower should push us out into the open.  God designed us that way.

Where are you hiding among the rest of the crowd?  Where are you covering up your relationship with Jesus?  God will tear down those tents because you were designed to show His character.  Stop painting camouflage with your life today.