God does not hide from us
"Everything that is now hidden or secret will eventually be brought to light. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand." Mark 4:22-23 (NLT)!
I used to misunderstand these verses and it caused me problems with my relationship to God.
I used to think that Jesus meant that any secret thought or sin I committed, would eventually be brought to light for all to see. It was a terrible thought. It's bad enough that God sees my private failures, much less everyone else! As a result I tended to see God as "out to get me." I pictured him keeping track of my secret sins so that he could eventually bring them to light for all to see.
But this is not what this verse means at all. Remember the three most important things for interpreting the Bible: Context, context, context! A text without a context is a pretext! Many misunderstandings of Scripture happen just this way - words are pulled from their context and given a meaning never intended by the speaker or writer.
In this case, when Jesus says that everything that is now hidden or secret will eventually be brought to light, he is speaking in the context of preaching the Good News to others. He just finished telling the story of the soils which taught us about the Good News being shared and how it would be received by various people. Then he tells his followers that they should let their lamps shine - in other words, they should share the Good News about Jesus with others to show them the way out of darkness.
Now he says that everything hidden will be brought to light. What is he saying? He's saying that everything about GOD that has been hidden or secret will come to light through Jesus! Those who have held mistaken views about God or walked in spiritual darkness of some kind will come to understand who God really is by hearing the Good News about Jesus.
The Good News is that God loves us so much, that he sent his only son to die for us. He loves us so much that he was willing to let his Son be mocked, beaten, brutally whipped, and crucified to save us. "He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed!" Isaiah 53:5 (NLT).
God does not hate you, he loves you! He is not out to get you, he's out to save you! He does not keep track of every secret sin you've ever committed so that he can reveal them to everyone else one day. No! To the contrary, he has died so that your sins could be forgiven and forgotten. God does not hide from us; he has done everything in his power to reveal himself to us.
God gave us his son so we might see him clearly. He gave us the Bible so we might understand him fully. He gave us his Spirit so we might serve him abundantly. He gave us his church so we might find him certainly. He gave us Christian friends so we might endure perpetually.
This is not a God that is hidden! This is a God of overwhelming, immeasurable love who wants to be known by you! His love is so great that it is scandalous! He forgives all sins, and accepts us if we follow his son. Why? So he can be near us, and live in us.
Now, at times, God may seem hidden from us. Mistaken beliefs; overdue bills; failing health; stressful jobs; strained relationships; time pressures - - all these and more can make God feel distant, or hidden.
But his promise is that we will understand. We will know. He will reveal himself to us in the midst of our darkness, if we will seek him out For if we draw close to God, he will draw close to us (Hebrews 4:6).
God does not hide from us - - ever.