Five ways to walk · Under God
Sheep that hide from the Shepherd
When God feels like a judge to keep happy, we keep our distance and call it reverence.
Some of us learned early that God was watching for mistakes. So we learned the rules, kept score, and tried to stay on his good side. Good behavior became a kind of insurance policy. Obey, and life should go well. Slip, and brace yourself.
Sheep that hide from the Shepherd aren’t rebels. Most of them are trying very hard. They just assume the footsteps coming toward them are bad news.
What it gets rightGod is holy, and his ways really are good. Taking him seriously, and taking sin seriously, is right (Prov 9:10).
Where it bendsThe bend is turning obedience into a bargain. We obey to manage God instead of to know him, and fear keeps us at arm’s length from the One who is looking for us.
Fellow travelers
People in Scripture who walked this way.
- Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden and hid: “I was afraid… so I hid” (Gen 3:8–10).
- Israel at Sinai stood far off and asked Moses to talk to God for them (Ex 20:18–19).
- The servant with one talent buried what he was given because he thought his master was harsh (Matt 25:24–25).
- The disciples saw a man born blind and asked whose sin caused it. Jesus said that was the wrong question (John 9:1–3).
God came into the garden asking, “Where are you?” He was looking for them, not for a reason to punish them (Gen 3:9).
The way home
The son in Luke 15 came home with a speech about being a hired hand. The father ran to him, embraced him, and never let him finish it (Luke 15:20–22).
We have not come to a mountain of fire and fear. We have come to Jesus (Heb 12:18–24). The curtain is torn (Matt 27:51). We can come close with confidence (Heb 4:16) and call him Abba (Rom 8:15). Perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18).
Start your prayer with “Abba,” and spend two minutes not apologizing. Let yourself be welcomed.