It is part of our fallen human nature that the first thing people do when they sin is to try and hide from God; this habit began in the Garden, when Adam and Eve hid from God, although their need for Him was never more acute than when they sinned. Israel, too, chose not to hear the voice of God, preferring to hear from Moses, a man like them; Jonah fled to Tarshish to hide from God who had directed him to Nineveh; Peter too said “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man O Lord” (Luke 5:8).
We see the same thing in the religious practices of modern Christianity; there is a natural tendency for man to organise his life as if God is nowhere around; we exclude Him from our presence and keep ourselves far from Him. While no Christian Church would articulate a doctrine that says that God is always available but comfortably far away, yet this notion has evolved in practice in modern religious Christianity. Man is a sinner by nature and takes pleasure in sin, therefore he doesn’t want God too close where He might see our sinfulness.
This is a great and tragic deception, because Christianity cannot save you; only Christ can save; and that only as we are in Him.
God is not in another place looking the other way! Our secret sins are in the light of His countenance (Psalm 90:8). Only by dwelling continually in His presence and being conscious of His presence can we be convicted of sin and led to repentance.
Leave a Reply