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“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

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Among the more obvious contemporary examples of unrestrained cynicism is the slogan adopted by those who are marketing Las Vegas to the masses; ‘What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas’.  When I was a rock musician back in the sixties the same concept had a slightly different slant; ‘What Happens on Tour, Stays On Tour’.  

The lure in this enticing fiction is that it is possible to engage in human behavior that avoids scrutiny and accountability and is beyond judgement. Why anyone who has any regard for others would want to actively promote this idea and encourage others to do so is hard to fathom. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that luring dollars is the real point, whatever the human cost.

The slogan also has the dead ring of nihilism about it. Can what I do be brought before no higher court than myself?  Is life devoid of any higher significance?

Jesus pointed out to those around Him that God’s eye perceives the tiny Sparrow and as well as every hair on your head. These words can have the effect of bringing great comfort but they also just might bring something else. It makes a difference if one is conscious that all of life, from the inside out, lies under the unblinking eye of the Creator. Nothing escapes scrutiny, no thought, word or deed escapes notice. 

The early Christians were encouraged to “walk as children of the light”. It’s a good phrase and an even better way of life. Children of the light are out in the open. Their ‘yes’ is yes and their ‘no’ is ‘no’. At the first sign of dawn they do not close the blinds or scurry under rocks. But who among us would dare on our own claim such a title? How dare we who have walked in darkness, and for whom innocence is no longer a possibility, claim the title ‘Children of the Light’?

We may dare such a life because the Great Eye of God has looked upon us in forgiving love in Jesus Christ, not holding the “deeds of darkness” against us. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”, the Word proclaims. Now, in the light of His amazing love, we may live out in the open freely, knowing that when God’s complete knowledge of us becomes too much, and drives us into the darkness, it is only so that we may return to our baptism and be restored by the daily dawning of His redeeming grace.

“May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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