Someone knows your secrets

“There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” (Luke 12:2-3)

I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. (1 Corinthians 4:3-5)

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed. God will bring to light what is hidden in darkness. Both Jesus, in Luke 12:2, and Paul, in 1 Corinthians 4:4, testify to the reality that there are no secrets and no safe hiding places – often before the world, and certainly before an all-knowing God.

This past week gave us two striking examples. The first happened last week, when a secretly recorded video was released that showed Dr. Deborah Nucatola, the senior director of medical services at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, discussing the sale of organs from aborted babies. As Dr. Nucatola ate her lunch, she casually discussed in detail how abortionists skillfully crush the unborn babies’ unwanted body parts, while preserving those organs that have value to medical researchers. The problem for Planned Parenthood is that the sale of human tissues is illegal, which could mean big trouble for the organization. Planned Parenthood, of course, is contending that the video is heavily edited, and that they do not do anything illegal (for two opinions on this scandal, you can read this and this).

The second example, from this week, was that a website that markets itself to men and women looking for an anonymous way to have an affair, was hacked. The hackers have supposedly demanded that unless the site is shut down, it will release the names of all 37 million (!) customers.

While both offenses – the selling of body parts and individuals seeking adulterous relationships – were exposed by shady and/or criminal means, they still serve as warnings to heed the passages listed above from Luke and 1 Corinthians. There is no such thing as a secret sin. Everything will eventually come to light. For some, it will happen this side of eternity. For others, it will happen as they stand before the Judge, who, as Paul writes, will “bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts.”

In light of this truth, how then should we live? First of all, we can give up the pretense that we can hide anything. Instead, we can choose to walk in the light by confessing what we have hidden to God, and preferably to a trusted friend (1 John 1:5-7). Even if we have secret sins that we are not yet ready to give up, we can still be honest about that to God and to a friend, and perhaps as we walk in the light, God will change our hearts. Secondly, as we walk in the light and live honestly before God and others, we will become increasingly aware that our hearts are full of wickedness and dark secrets. Instead of hiding this fact, we can let it cause us to appreciate more fully the forgiveness and righteousness that is found in Jesus through His death on the cross. The more honest we are, the more we realize that we could never stand on our own merit before a holy God, and the more clearly we see our desperate need for a Savior. And the more we see our need, the more fully we will love Jesus for what He did for us.

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed. God will bring to light what is hidden in darkness. Trust Jesus for the righteousness you have in Him, and step out into the light.