Peekaboo! God sees you!

My little daughter Katrina loves to play Peekaboo. She covers her eyes and really believes that she cannot be seen. "If I cannot see", she thinks, "than no one can see me". All my kids have done this and they all believed that if their eyes were covered they were completely hidden from anyone who wanted to find them. As they grow older they slowly, but surely, start to realize they have to hide more than their eyes if they don't want to be found. Even when they get a little older, like 4 or 5, they might attempt to hide behind a bush or a small tree or a sheet on the bed. In their mind they are perfectly hidden even though you can see them right through the bush or their body is wider than the small tree or there is a big breathing bump on the bed under that sheet.

This reminds me of how we are with our Heavenly Father. We, as immature sons or daughters of God the Father, think we can hold our hands over our eyes and somehow be hidden from Him. Adam and Eve tried this in the garden. After they sinned they were ashamed and tried, unsuccessfully, to cover their nakedness and shame with fig leaves. Gen 3:9 says, "But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" This reminds me of when I say, "Where's Katrina?" Even though I know she is sitting there with her hands over her eyes I still say it and, of course, it is always followed up by a "there she is!" Adam and Eve tried to hide from God. We try to hide from God. When we really stop and think about it we realize how ridiculous it is but we do it all the time.

We somehow think that if we cover our eyes from the truth of God’s Word or cover our eyes from the mirror of God’s Law that is exposing our sin that we won’t be clearly seen by God. The Psalmist reminds us that our Father always sees and is always there no matter how good our hands are covering our own eyes. “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” (Psalms 139:7-12)

Having our hands cupped over our own eyes is a weak attempt to cover what only the blood of Christ can cover. In the garden, the fig leaves were insufficient. We’re told that God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve. He had to kill the animals in order to do that. Blood had to be shed in order for them to be truly covered. It was a picture, of course, of the Lamb of God. We can try to cover our eyes and pretend that we are not being seen. Or, through the blood of Christ, we can boldly come to the throne-room of God and not be ashamed. Trying to hide or trying to do good enough works is just as silly and just as ineffective as a child playing Peekaboo.