A Game of Hide-and-Seek
A Reflection by Christine Jurisich
A relationship with the Divine can feel like a game of hide-and-seek. The good news is that God is always inviting you to return home. Wherever you are in your relationship, the Sacred will meet you.
All this month we are reflecting on opening the door to God’s endless love with short excerpts from “The Journey Within” a self-paced online retreat that is beginning this week. We see this door metaphor in Scripture from different perspectives (i.e., in some references, God is opening the door; in others, you are invited to open it). All involve forming a relationship with God and the choices presented throughout the journey. [1]
The choice to knock on the door of the Beloved:
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Mt 7:7
The choice to close the door to the outside world:
But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to God who is in that secret place; and your Abba God who sees all that is done in secret will reward you. Mt 6:6 (The Inclusive Bible)
The choice to enter into a relationship with Jesus.
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. Jn 10:9
The choice to listen and open the door.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Rev 3:20
There may be times when you sense God is right within you. Other times, you have no sensation or feeling of Presence and question whether you have ever felt it. An experience of God can feel like a game of hide and seek, even if Scripture tells us something different.
But if from there you search for YHWH, your God, you will find the Creator if you seek with all your heart and with all your soul. Deut 4:29 (The Inclusive Bible)
German mystic Meister Eckhart says, “God is at home. We are the ones who have gone out for a walk.” This quote helps me remember God’s endless love is always available, even when it feels so challenging to connect with it. I invite you to reflect this week on the different Scripture verses. Which one describes where you are on your journey?
[1] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version.
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