Hidden Things

The new year holds great expectations for better things to come! Christians in particular hope and pray for God to do a new thing in our world. Thankfully, we trust in the God who has a history of making all things new!

My new year usually begins by putting away last year’s Christmas décor. One of those items is a set of nesting, nutcracker dolls. They’re whimsical and fun to open and they always bring to mind a spiritual truth: I am hidden with Christ in God.  

In this protected position, I have been given new life and the expectation of eternal life with God. This year, the dolls brought to mind two people in Scripture, Noah and Moses, who were also hidden and protected by God and then given new lives in order to further God’s plan of salvation.

Noah and his family were hidden and protected by the LORD in an ark, and Moses was hidden and protected in a papyrus basket. But here’s the interesting and wonderful connection of these two incredible stories. The ark that protected Noah and his family, and the basket that protected Moses, is the same word in Hebrew, tebah (tay-baw’), which means, a box, chest, or basket.

As I held the large nesting doll in my hand, I realized it was a sort of ark. If I were to drop the set, the dolls on the inside would be kept safe, but the large, outer doll would take the blow for the other dolls hidden inside of it. Likewise, when we belong to Christ, the Bible says that our lives are hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

Apart from Jesus Christ, we are considered enemies of God (Romans 5:8-10). That is a dangerous position. But because God loves us, even while we were against him in our thoughts, words, and actions, he came to earth as a human being to take the punishment that we deserve for sinning against him. In other words, Jesus took the blows for us when he was crucified (Isaiah 53; John 1:1-14); he is our ark of protection! 

In order to be hidden with Christ in God, to be “in the ark,” we must admit to God that we have sinned and trust that Jesus died to take our punishment. The Bible says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9. By this we are placed in God’s protected position, he removes our sins and won’t even remember them or hold them against us (Hebrews 8:12; Psalm 103:12), and we are given the gift of eternal life (John 3; 1 Peter 1:3). But that’s not all! When we are in Christ, the Bible says we become new people, our old selves are gone (2 Corinthians 5:17), we become part of God's family (John 1:12-13), and are given spiritual blessings too (Ephesians 1:3). And not only that, we are given the willpower to want to obey Jesus (Ephesians 1:19)! 

In the days of Noah, people were either in the ark or out of the ark. And only those people who were in the ark were saved. Today, either people are in Christ or they’re not. I urge you to start the New Year being hidden and protected in Christ. The Bible says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” Romans 10:13. And if you are in Christ, purpose in your heart this year to share the good news message of Jesus with others.

Let’s pray: “Dear Jesus, Thank you for your protection; thank you for new life. Thank you for loving me, dying for me, forgiving me, and giving me the gift of eternal life. Please help me to share this message with other people. Amen.”

God bless you and Happy New Year!

Teach this to children; click to get a free lesson. 

Copyright 2020 Sarah Keith – SundaySchoolNetwork.com

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