Our son Andy is a coach with a minor league baseball team in Arkansas.  The ballpark has a rule that I find bizarre: the fans may carry in only clear bags.  Not acceptable are purses or back backs or diaper bags.  This mandate has caught on at numerous ballparks, so fans bring clear bags, ranging in size from a submarine sandwich to a microwave. Think Ziploc bags with glitter.  I question how safe the stuffed, larger, see-through bags are, since it would be easy to stick a small pistol down inside the blanket that fills the cavity.  The gatekeepers do not check what’s inside the bag.

“Since your parcel is clear, enter through the turnstile, please.”

It’s sort of how God sees us, isn’t it? Only He sees through our baggage of hidden sins as we try to disguise who we really are but fail miserably at the attempt.  Do you find it as freaky as I do?  There isn’t a thought we have that He doesn’t see.  Selfish motives can’t be hidden from Him.  Judgmental opinions do not escape His notice.  A smiley face will not mask a complaining attitude.  We are incapable of stuffing anything so that it is not seen by our Heavenly Father.

Luke 12:2,3 pulls no punches. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. The thought terrifies me. Someone once described the judgment seat of Christ as a drive-in movie.  We all will be gathered to watch a big movie screen where God will show the world all our sins and failures.  Talk about a horror movie!  Should that be the case, I will be hidden in the car’s trunk, not unlike the times I did that as a teenager.  And yes, another sin that would be exposed.

The scripture is a little confusing. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 we read that we all will appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an answer for the things done in the body, whether good or evil.  Would a loving God put us on the hotseat and reveal our sins to the world?   I mean, who of us would invite others over to watch a home video of every way our child disobeyed or messed up?  “And here’s Johnny being taken away in handcuffs for the third time.”  “Oh, look at Susie, sneaking out of her bedroom window at midnight.”  Absolutely not.

Instead, we would show the highlight reel, right?  The winning field goal, the ACT certificate presentation, the proposal.  Good parents don’t shame, and neither does God.  There is nothing in scripture to indicate that our behavior’s discussion is done publicly.  2 Corinthians 5:10 says nothing about our ugly nature being shared with others. (Thank you, Jesus.)

But let’s say it is.  Maybe, instead of our terrible deeds inviting shame and sorrow, they miraculously will inspire wonder and worship at the grace and forgiveness of God.  Instead of looking at each other disdainfully (“You’re really a sicko, you know it?”), our attitude might be, “How amazing is our Father who sent His son, Jesus, to cover our sins!”

There is another option, the one I prefer.  What if there is no bad report?  Instead, there will just be a grand announcement that those ugly scenes from our lives have been washed away because Jesus was made sin for us on the cross.  The same cross where Shame died.

When the day comes that we Christians enter through the pearly gate, unlike the ballpark, there will be nothing we have to hide. We will enter through the Jesus gate, and that will be enough.                                                                                                                                                         Yes, I will go with that option.