“You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”—Colossians 3:3
Hidden. Safe, secure, sheltered from the world. The paradox of the Christian life is that we die to live, and we hide to let our lights shine. When we abide in Christ and grow deeper in our relationship with Him, we are hidden in a way that protects our souls from danger. We are in Christ, and nothing, not even Satan, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).
The world can identify Christians culturally and demographically. In the first century, followers of Jesus were identified as Christians for the first time (Acts 11:26). The world knew who they were, but it did not really KNOW them. Their lives were hidden from the world that didn’t know Jesus.
Believers, who can be outwardly recognized by their traditions and activities, carry in their hearts the only power available to mankind for redemption and renewal. On this earth, the treasure of God is hidden in earthen vessels so that “the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). God hides us, and hides in us, only to shine even brighter when He is allowed to work in and through our lives.
Corrie ten Boom and her family hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II. They created a hiding place for God’s children. When they were caught and sent to concentration camps, Corrie found her hiding place in the Lord in the midst of death, horror, and the loss of her beloved family members. She lived to share her family’s story of loving God’s people through a family hidden in Him, finding the only solace possible in such horrific times.
Whatever your circumstances, God invites you to be tucked away in His love, protected, cared for, and strengthened to face whatever the world throws at you.
“You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7
