Stinking Soul Sardines

Recently, wanting to be entertained, I checked out a British comedy series. 

The first episode opened with a bedroom scene, and a person talking to themselves. While walking through the space, we see through their eyes, as they search the ensuite bathroom, return to the bedroom, and enter a large armoire, closing the door quietly behind them. Soon after, another character enters the bedroom, and there is a repeat performance: they look about and then their eyes settle on the armoire; they approach, and upon opening the doors, and entering in, there is a discovery of the hidden person. The two begin an awkward conversation, and learn who they know in common. By the third time this occurs, it dawns on me, that this is an adult game of sardines: before too long, there are four people inside the storage unit, with the last person entering rather rambunctiously. The combination of characters includes a sister and brother, the brother and his boyfriend, and another man. 

If you don't know the game of sardines, it is "a twist on hide-and-seek: Everyone seeks while one hides. As seekers find the person hiding, they hide with him. The last person to join the group is the odd man out."

The twist

The twist for this scene that I was watching, is that while everyone was hiding in this armoire, and as they were crowded into a very small and intimate space, their secret sins, and not so secret sins, were pouring forth, and the old euphemism turned joke about coming out of the closet, made this scene uncomfortable for me as a viewer, because their was absolutely no where to hide. These characters, in the darkened space, had so many skeletons in their closets, that had fallen out for full viewing, that their souls were exposed grotesquely. I did not persist in watching, because not only was I not entertained, I was put off by what I had already seen. 

The Light exposes our darkness

Freakish force of evil

Which brings me to this idea that I have, about the uncovering of our sins and the stinking soul sardines that hide there, hoping we don't detect them and route them out! In the demonic realm, that is exactly what Satan works hard to prevent: he does not want his freakish force for evil to be detected, as they whisper and plot and plan, attempting to keep quiet so as not to be observed, while the seeker searches for the hidden. Alas, demons can be sneaky in their silence, or down right tempestuously loud. 

Gust of wind

In the armoire of life, God says don't stay in there, trying to hide what you are doing. For your information, you can run, you can hide, you can pretend you can't and won't get caught, but alas, I AM The Light of the world, and I can blast those doors wide open with a wink, a nod, or a gust of wind from My nostrils (if He had nostrils that is), that will tear apart your delusions of being able to live freely from consequences, or any of those sins you believe to be secret. The Light, always exposes darkness. 

Impossible to sneak past Him

Now hear me out, because this is soul breaking exciting news! While we sneak around and crowd ourselves into spiritual storage units, believing we are avoiding and evading an all knowing God, Jesus is on the other side of those closed double doors, waiting for us to come on out. Eventually, when we get hungry and thirsty enough; when we get tired of our hiding and our silly games of secrecy; and when we finally fling open those doors to escape, Jesus will be waiting for us there, and by God, we will find it impossible to sneak past Him! 

For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad (Luke 8:17)

I end on this note: 

We all sin and fall short of the glory of God, and that is the human condition, but God doesn't want to leave us where we find ourselves. He is opposed to the soul sickness that sin cultivates, and the breeding ground that makes it easy for sin to become a cultural contagion. He wants us to search our own souls, and consciously come clean, confessing what lurks in the armoire of our spirits. God's light disperses the darklings, and they scatter in His presence. We are promised that when we are in Christ, and clothed in His armour of light, they cannot stand against us, because they see Jesus in our stead.  

The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let's rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light (Romans 13:12)

From the armoire of stinking soul sardines, to the armour of light that dispels darkness and the secrets therein, we can be set free from what haunts us and desires to devour... we can be heavenly creatures, here on Gods earth