Daily Devotions
Hide not Your face from me. Turn not Your servant away in anger, O You who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation. Psalm 27:9
A few weeks back a man with graying hair and a short beard was arrested for trespassing in a parking garage.
It’s the kind of charge that normally is of little consequence. More often than not the person is booked and then he is allowed to go his way.
That is not the way it has worked out for this individual, who appears to be somewhere around 60 years old. That’s because when this man was arrested, he refused to give his name. He wouldn’t give his name, his address, his rank or serial number.
Lieutenant Dennis Harris of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said, “I realize that sometimes people want to go to jail because they are homeless, have nothing; they are destitute. I’ve seen that over the years. I just don’t get the impression that’s the reason here. He just doesn’t want to be discovered by somebody.”
Others who have interviewed the man say he is “pleasant in demeanor,” “appreciative of the food” and “well spoken and educated.”
And he is one other thing: he is incredibly secretive about who he is.
When officials gave him a telephone calling card so he could contact friends or relatives, he declined to use it — not because he had nobody to call, but because he doesn’t want the police or anyone else to discover his identity.
So, I’ve told you the story. What do you think?
Me, I think I’m glad the Triune God isn’t like that man … not wanting to be found.
The Lord certainly could have decided to go that route. After all, He had given us a perfect world, a perfect world our ancestors lost because they couldn’t follow one, simple commandment.
Since that time, every day, every person in the world commits a multitude of sins. How ungrateful can we be?
Indeed, it would have been perfectly understandable if God refused to look at us, deal with us and if He washed His hands of us. No one could have criticized Him if He had decided to hide Himself away in some remote spot of heaven.
But that is not what God chose to do. Instead of hiding from us, He sent His Son down to us. The Lord came to us in the Person of His Son and in a very public way, said, “I’m here. I’m here to save you. I’m here so you can be forgiven and brought back into My family.”
And not only did God say it, He wrote it down. In the Bible you can read the public story of the Savior’s sacrifice and the grace that God most readily and visibly extends.
For coming to us rather than away from us, today we thank the Lord.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, there is no earthly reason why You should have sent Your Son to save us. This means there must be a heavenly reason. For Your great grace, Your obvious compassion, I give thanks. I do this in my Savior’s Name. Amen.