Privacy has long been an escalating battle. For every idea and technology to hide ourselves we come up with an idea and technology that reveals ourselves. VPNs, pseudonyms, combat ip addresses and facial recognition software. All of which is by and large, comical.
The truth is that there is a precise overlap between the One whom we alone need to fear and the One who knows all things. No technology can cloud His eyes or veil our thoughts, words and deeds. And a day is coming when everyone will witness the big reveal. As we will witness the big reveal of everyone else.
At the end of time we can be assured of two things. First, every sin ever committed will have its perfect, corresponding judgment. Second, every sin ever committed will be known by all. The good news for those who are in Christ is that because every sin of ours has already received its just judgment on the cross, every revelation of our sins is cause for rejoicing over His grace toward us.
In the face of God’s omniscience, privacy becomes utterly unattainable. He sees us when we’re sleeping. He knows when we’re awake. In light of His grace, however, privacy from Him becomes utterly undesirable. When the fear of His judgment is gone, we enter into the comfort of His presence. When David writes:
O Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You. (Psalm 139: 1-12)
he is not feeling exposed but covered. God’s gaze is not a threat but a promise.
When we remember that we live all our lives coram Deo, before the face of God, we do have a restraint on our sins. I’m not suggesting we should not use His presence as an aid to our obedience. But better still is when we remember He is with us in a posture of infinite love, we want to do well.
He knows us fully. Better than our critics. More clearly than the devil himself. Far more than we know ourselves. And He declares us righteous. He calls us His own. May we always feel like He is watching us. Because He is. And not from a distance.