Hide and seek is still a fun game to me. Yes, I recently made 20, but that doesn’t matter. And it’s not hide and seek anymore, but it’s sardines. I like the fact that I have a chance to hide and I especially love when I have to find those who are hiding. You know how exhilarating that is, right? Or am I the only one?
Everyone is looking for something in life. Ask anyone, they will probably tell you that they have not found all of their hopes and dreams but, they are still looking. You and I are that way two. We look for money, and when we attain it, it’s not like we stop looking. We keep on going and look for more and more. Success can be “attained” but if you ask a celebrity if they are complete, they will probably tell you they are not. We even do this in relationships. We are out to find the one for us. We think we find them, then something happens. The relationship isn’t what you thought it would be. They aren’t perfect. Success is empty. Money is paper. These things fade.
There was a time where I missed the fun of hide & seek, and then it hit me. Life will never be this way. The cup of my heart can never be filled by these things that I chase after and try to attain. The joy that I found in finding someone I had been looking for in a game of hide & seek would never become real life, despite my efforts.
The truth is that we are all looking for the same thing. That joy that comes from finding what you’ve always wanted & more. A lot of us do not know where to find it.
For a child whose father had not been active in their life, they may become troubled. Their father isn’t participating in their events, making calls, or helping them or their family out. So the troubled child grows up, gets a job, & finds out that he needs to make more money. He has some friends who deal drugs, and he gets into the game. He makes money, & buys all of these things. He finds himself in legal trouble, and ends up in jail, unable to help his mother, unable to make money, unable to do anything.
There’s an infinite number of stories that can replace the one above, you may have your own. The moral of these stories is that underneath all of the money or the drugs, the insecurities and the circumstances, all the kid really wanted was his father’s love.
I firmly believe that is what we are all looking for: a father. A lot of us do not understand that, and it’s okay. Just as the troubled child doesn’t know what he really wants is his father’s love, we do not understand why we cannot find what can fill the gaping hole in our heart. This Father is far different. He hasn’t abandoned us. He is here. And He is love.
He is God.
Everything, and I mean everything we need is in Him. He is unlike all of these other false idols that we are chasing. Not money, success, and relationships. It’s our father’s love. He can love us unlike anyone else can, because His love is perfect.
Look at this verse from the book of Matthew:
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Matthew 13:44
Yes, there is perfection, and His name is Jesus. The friend of sinners. The King of the Jews. The Savior of the world. He who did not commit even one sin but, gave His life up for us all. And what’s so crazy about that is the fact that God loves us the way He loves Jesus. Even though we are still sinners. Even though I, bluntly and simply, suck. When I feel as if I do not deserve anything at all, He shows me my own worth by exchanging His perfect Son for my salvation.
For God, it’s bigger than salvation. It’s reconciliation. We were His at the beginning. Because of our sin, we turned away from Him. But better believe He wants us back. He is seeking us. He pursues us. And He loves you more than you love yourself.
The game of Hide & Seek sucks when we get older. We start to over complicate things and we forget what we were looking for in the first place. I believe that we are looking for peace, hope, and joy. All things that abide in the Lord. That is God. God is love. Even though we all may not realize it;
we are all looking for the Father.