Many of us have heard about the infamous iceberg illustration – 90% hidden, 10% revealed. We marvel at the 10% long before we ever see the 90%.
I’m currently reading ‘Anonymous’ by Alicia Britt Chole in which she is addressing Jesus’ hidden years – the 90% He lived in obscurity. She remarks that it is not the 10%, but the 90% that make the iceberg indestructible. It’s not the 10% visibility of Jesus but the 90% obscurity that made Him indestructible.
She states, “However, when we state our desire to ‘be like Jesus,’ we are not referring to Jesus’ anonymous years. ‘I want to walk like Jesus walked and live like Jesus lived!’ is generally not equated in our hearts with, I want to live 90 percent of my life in absolute obscurity!’
How many of us would say that we want to live 90 percent of our lives being hidden? There are innate passions that desire to propel us towards achieving, succeeding, and being known.
We want our greatest gifts, talents, and abilities to be revealed to all.
We WANT to be known.
We WANT to be seen.
We WANT to be praised.
Jesus wanted to be hidden.
Revelation before formation is a weight few can carry. If Jesus refused to be seen before His formation was complete, who are we to expect different? Why are the hidden times of life painted in a negative light? Shouldn’t we long for the hiddenness?
Is that what Jesus meant when He spoke, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”?
Maybe I’ll create my own beatitude. Blessed are those who are hidden, for the formation they experience during obscurity will be what sustains them when they are made known.
“In other words, trials tell us less about our future than they do about our past. Why? Because the decisions we make in difficult places today are greatly the product of decisions we made in unseen places of our yesterdays.” – Alicia Britt Chole
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