Jeremiah 23:23-24

‘Am I a God who is only in one place’? asks the Lord.  ‘Do they think I cannot see what they are doing? 

Can anyone hide from me?  Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth’? asks the Lord.

I used to work alongside a man a long time ago, a nice man, a polite man, a helpful man and he smoked a pipe (and I loved the smell of the tobacco he used).  He lived in Airdrie but drove over to the Clydesdale Steelworks every day to his place of work and he was always early.  He was one of the few that brought an attaché case to work and he looked very smart walking from the car park to the office with this case in one hand and his Glasgow Herald tucked under his other arm.  He sat behind me in the office and some time passed before I noticed that his routine on arrival was to put the Glasgow Herald into his desk drawer, open the wee case and take out the Sun newspaper and he would read that until it came time to start work at 8.30am.  The Herald came out later for him to scan the job vacancies and then have a go at the crossword.  This routine amused me a little because I’m sure he bought the two newspapers at the same time so why not put both in the wee case?  Why not put the Herald in the case and carry the Sun under the arm?  I can only imagine he was trying to project some sort of image to anyone who might bump into him each morning, an image that required a case (he never ever took any work home but I think he might have kept his sandwiches in it) and a Herald held underarm. I’m not sure if you’ll appreciate this anecdote but although this happened nearly fifty years ago, the memory stays with me for some reason. 

The general message is that external appearances can be deceptive but eventually, the reality will become apparent and the truth will come out.  There has been many times when I’ve found out by accident some information about a person I knew (most of this pretty harmless incidentally, for example a skill or hobby they may have had) and it took me by surprise when this information came to light.  There were other examples when it was a habit or an illness that became common knowledge.  I guess all is not always how it appears.

Similarly, no matter what age we are, and we are ‘up to something’ that maybe we shouldn’t be doing, we might get away with it or we might be found out.  Today’s lesson teaches us that we may be able to conceal wrong things we are saying or doing from those around us but as soon as we sin and say or do the wrong thing, God is instantly aware.  If we are truly believers, that should make us all take the extra step of thinking if God would approve of our actions.  This extra step should make the difference of getting more things right than wrong.  It is also worth considering that God not only sees the perpetrators of the sin, he also recognises the instigators, those that encourage others to do the wrong thing while looking innocent in the whole proceedings. As the words of the children’s hymn we don’t hear so much in these modern times says; ‘God is always near me, hearing what I say, knowing all my thoughts and deeds, all at work and play’.

Prayer – Loving Father, help us live each day that you give us knowing that you are ever-present, that we can talk to you and know that you are there and that you witness the way we live our lives and behave towards others.  We praise you for the great salvation you make freely available to each one of us in Christ Jesus and in whose name we pray this day, Amen