The Secret Life

Have you ever seen when children call their parents’ attention saying, “look what I can do!”? Maybe you’ve been that parent. Do you remember being that child?

What joy and satisfaction comes across a child’s face when they get to show off their new trick and lock eyes with mom and dad afterwards, knowing that they were seen at their best. In contrast, what disappoint is seen when mom or dad are too distracted to pay attention and miss their child’s effort to impress them. Nothing says we don’t care like failing to pay attention when someone wants to be seen.

What about God? What about your Father in Heaven? Does He notice? Does He care when you are living out your life as His Good and Faithful, in the midst of the ups and the downs, and you choose to do things with Him in mind? Does it matter to Him?

Jesus tells us multiple times in Matthew’s Gospel, particularly in chapter 6, that in fact, it is the life we live when others don’t see that our Father is paying attention to. Jesus repeats at least three times that our Father is in secret, and He sees in secret. It’s in light of this that Jesus commands us to live a life with that secret place in mind. To give in secret, to pray in secret, to deny ourselves in secret. And what’s more, not only does He see us in that secret life, He rewards us in light of it.

We all want to be seen. Social media is proof of that. We may not all care how many followers we have, we may be indifferent to the amount of likes our posts get, but all of us have people in our lives we care about that we want acknowledgement from. That’s not entirely unhealthy. The problem is that when we get so caught up in trying to be seen by others, we quickly forget that we are already seen most by the One who loves us most and cares for us most.

No one else could think of you before you were conceived and form you for the life you are called to live.[1] No one else can write down every day of your life in their book, establish your every step,[2] and watch you rise in the morning and sleep in the evening. No one else can number every hair of your head[3] and catch your every tear.[4] There is no one who can see you like Your Father in Heaven and there is no one who can love you like Him.

We were told by our Master that in this life we will have many troubles.[5] We must understand that as pilgrims in this world, following after Jesus, our work will not always be readily acknowledged by others. We will have times of disappoint. There will be times when we live life, seemingly unnoticed. We will labor, get up and go to work, take care of our loved ones, pray, worship, etc. We will do many things in this life that will appear to be inconsequential. It will appear as if no one sees. But there is One who always sees. Your Father in Heaven who is in secret and sees in secret.

We don’t do what we do as God’s Good and Faithful for the crowds. We don’t do it for accolades, or for promotions or for a raise. It isn’t even for the acknowledgement or the praise. We do what we do as God’s Good and Faithful, because He is good and He is faithful. We live our lives in view of His Gospel, blessing the nations, and advancing His Kingdom, because we know that He watches over us. Guiding us. Guarding us. He sees the lives we live in secret. The secret labor of love that often goes unrecognized by others. He sees You. And He looks forward to the day when He can say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”[6]

You can find more practical content in our Devotionals blog written by Pastor Charles D. Chaney Jr.

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