The Lord warns of a day when everything will come to light; we may as well live as if it were true today.

3 min read

"The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made know to all." -Jesus, Luke 12:2

The media frenzy has finally begun to slow down after the release of a set of classified files by the U.S. Federal Government. As expected, this dumping of information to the public implicated some very powerful people who made the mistake of thinking that they were sinning in isolation and secrecy.

Come to find out, no man is an island.

But as today’s passage from the Gospel of Luke reminds us, none of us really has any secrets that will not eventually come to light.

Targeting the hypocrisy of pretentious religious leaders whose lives were one big front, Jesus declared that there would be a day when all secrets would be exposed. He spoke, no doubt, of a future judment day.

Now, this statement by Jesus might strike you either as intimidating, or as reassuring.

On one hand, if you feel as though you have a lot to hide and you are not personal with Jesus, the idea of one day being fully exposed by God is intimidating. You’re probably thinking, Could we talk about something else?

On the other hand, if there is much in your life for which you are not proud, but you have embraced the mercy and forgiveness of God in Christ, then this statement reassures you that although God knows those things that you would prefer to keep a secret, He still loves you and pursued a relationship with you.

You see, the more you get to know God as He is revealed in Scripture, the more secure you will be in his love. And the more secure you are in his love, the less need you will have to hide, cover, or keep secrets.

Keeping secrets, after all, is exhausting work.

David tried it, to no avail. Once everything was out in the open, he proclaimed:

O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
    so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. Psalm 86:5

I have learned that God knows the worst there is to know about me. He knows my most incriminating moments. He knows “the sins of my youth” as well as the transgressions of my adulthood. He’s got enough dirt on me to fill a dump truck.

Yet, he’s not holding my file over my head or waving it in my face. When I confess, he forgives and my sin is under the blood of Christ forever, never to be mentioned again.

The beauty of forgiveness is just that…there is no file.

Friend, if your conscience is haunted by a secret file full of your worst moments, throw yourself on the mercy of God. Take his forgiveness personally. It is time for your file to be destroyed once and for all.

To live as if you have no secrets is life at its very best. And that’s no secret.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.