Peek-a-Boo!

Very young children, usually somewhat under a year, are not able to comprehend the permanence of objects. "Out of sight, out of mind." Mother or an older child can cover their own face or the baby's eyes and then pop back into view, saying, "Peek-a-boo! I see you!" to the surprise and delight of the baby. As far as he or she was concerned, the playmate had gone away and now suddenly they have returned!

Sometimes we grownups act that way with some hard reality or disappointing circumstance. If we don't look directly at it—covering it up or closing our eyes—maybe it will go away. "Out of sight, out of mind!"

It isn't true. Minor problems may disappear all right: the big dog in the yard will wander off somewhere else soon, the traffic jam will unsnarl, the headache will clear up. But major issues like a lack of communication with your spouse, a summons to jury duty, or a leak in the water heater are going to need some attention.

The crowds who followed Jesus sometimes played the hiding game. He told them,

"Here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you . . . Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? . . . The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." . . . From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

"Out of sight, out of mind," they thought. And then Jesus turned to the disciples.

"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:50-69)

Yes, sometimes we are confronted by a difficult truth, something we don't understand and find hard to accept. But let us not close our eyes or turn away. Instead, let's reply, "Lord, to whom else could I go? You have the words of eternal life."

MaryMartha

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Art from http://www.sxc.hu