I’ve run into the phrase, “the secret place” being used in Christian circles. While I love that expression, I couldn’t help but think of it as a re-articulation of the well-worn term, “quiet time.” Perhaps, back in the day, “quiet time,” was considered a contemporary way of saying “Bible reading and prayer time.” Maybe it’s time for a refresh.

The “secret place,” as I’ve heard it expressed, denotes your time alone with God. It’s a place of retreat. It’s where you commune with your Creator. It’s where He changes your heart.

But, as I read Matthew 6 I realized that perhaps our definition of the secret place is narrower than what it ought to be.

In the iconic Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks to the large crowd about living counter-culturally. He says to them—and to us—that we are to be set apart from the world. One way we do that is by being refreshed in the secret place.

But the secret place is not limited to our traditional quiet times.

In His sermon, Jesus speaks about three specific secret things: giving to the poor, praying, and fasting. And in each of these three situations, Jesus repeats the line: “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Friends, when Jesus says something, we ought to pay attention. (Those red letters in the NIV are red for a reason). When He says it three times? We better be listening real good.

Let’s think on those five little words: what is done in secret.

Yes, prayer is part of what ought to be done in secret, behind closed doors, rather than on stages and in the spotlight.

But there are other “good” things Jesus says we ought to do in the secret place—away from admiring glances. He warns us not to put our righteousness on display.

Jesus knows that we are prideful people. But we are also cleverly prideful people. None of us is naive enough to blatantly declare, “Hey everyone! Look at how much I volunteer, and how much I tithe, and how much stuff I give away.”

We are far more subtle and nuanced than that. But God knows the motives of our hearts. He sees right through the filters and the packaging to the very core of our beings.

If there’s even a hint of “Look at me,” instead of “Look at Jesus,” then we ought to ask if we have limited the secret place to just our little morning devotionals.

Jesus warns us that if our ‘I’m-so-awesome’ deeds are done “to be seen by others,” (again He repeats those words in all three instances) then we’ve already got the accolades, the acclaim, the approval, and the adulation from those “others.” And that’s pretty much it. We’ve garnered treasures on earth which are transitory instead of treasures in heaven which are timeless.

Let me share, that for me, the struggle is real. As a Chrisitan writer, I wrestle with desire for my work to be read, liked, shared, and even admired (there I said it). But I am challenged to live in the secret place where my righteous deeds are done for an Audience of One. Join me as I cry out to Him and say, “Lord, in all that I do, hide me behind the Cross.”

May we, in the words of the worship song, come back to the heart of worship where it’s all about Jesus. May He and He alone get all the glory. That means none of the glory belongs to us: we live out our life’s purpose through obscurity.

May we go into the secret place to refresh ourselves by drinking from the Living Water. But as we pour out into the lives of others, may we remain in that secret place. May our hidden lives bring much joy to One who sees what is done in secret.

 

In anonymity,

I find my acclaim,

In obscurity,

I learn obedience ,

In hiddenness,

I grow in holiness,

In becoming less,

I depend on Him more,

In the secret place,

I find my Savior. 

 

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