By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice
“Olly, olly, oxen free!”
If you’re smiling right now, you’re probably remembering the same thing I am.
Long before smartphones, video games, and streaming television, neighborhood kids had an amazing ability to entertain themselves. We’d ride our bikes until the streetlights came on, play baseball in empty lots, build forts out of scrap lumber, and, when the evening shadows grew just a little longer, someone would shout, “Let’s play hide-and-seek!”
The seeker would cover his eyes and begin counting while the rest of us scattered in every direction—behind bushes, under porches, between parked cars, anywhere we thought no one would ever find us. Of course, we weren’t nearly as hidden as we imagined. Looking back, I can still remember crouching behind a tree, convinced that if I couldn’t see the seeker, he certainly couldn’t see me. It’s funny how logical that seemed when I was eight years old.
Eventually, the game always came to an end. When it did, the seeker would stand at the home base and yell those unforgettable words: “Olly, olly, oxen free!”
It was the signal that everyone could stop hiding. The game was over. It was safe to come out.
I hadn’t thought about those words in years until I read Matthew chapter six again.
Right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus begins talking about giving, praying, and fasting. At first glance, it feels as though He’s changing the subject. But the more I sat with His words, the more I realized He wasn’t teaching about religious activities nearly as much as He was teaching about TRUST!
Again and again, Jesus repeats the same phrase: “Your Father, who sees what is done in secret…” He doesn’t say it once. He says it over and over, almost as if He wants us to stop worrying about who else is watching. That’s when something struck me…Maybe adults never really stop playing hide-and-seek. We simply become more sophisticated at hiding.
Some of us hide behind accomplishments. Some hide behind our careers. Others hide behind titles, politics, success, humor, busyness, or even church work. Sometimes we even hide behind our goodness, hoping people will notice everything we’re doing while quietly avoiding the parts of our lives we’d rather keep unseen. Jesus gently exposes all of it—not to embarrass us, but to free us.
The world teaches us to perform for an audience. Jesus invites us to live before a Father. There’s a tremendous difference. One constantly asks, “Did they notice me?” The other quietly rests in, “My Father already sees me.”
I’ve been working for several years on a leadership framework that explores what I believe are life’s primary principles—the unchanging realities woven into creation by God Himself. One of those principles is trust. Every healthy marriage depends on it. Every lasting friendship grows because of it. Every effective leader either earns it or loses it. The more I’ve studied Scripture and life together, the more convinced I’ve become that faith isn’t simply believing something about God.
Faith is learning to trust the Father or God enough that we no longer need everyone else’s approval.
Perhaps that’s why Jesus ends Matthew 6 by talking about worry. The person who trusts the Father doesn’t have to spend tomorrow trying to prove today. That’s hidden trust. Not hiding from God, but living so confidently in His love and trust (faith) that we no longer need to hide from anyone else.
Maybe that’s what those childhood words remind me of now. Not a neighborhood game. Not summer evenings. Not scraped knees or backyard adventures. But something infinitely better. I hear my Heavenly Father smiling as He calls out to each of us who has spent way too much time hiding behind fear, failure, success, religion, or reputation: ‘Olly, olly, oxen free!’ Then, in a whisper, hear God say,
“Come out. The hiding is over. I’ve seen you all along. And I love you still.”
That, my friends, is the hidden weapon of trust that the world will never understand in the Art of War – Jesus Style.
As always… God is here. God is able. God is good.
Pastor Drake
I’ll be continuing this conversation later this week on the Just Sayin’ podcast, where we’ll take a deeper look at The Hidden Trust Weapon: Olly, Olly, Oxen Free!
Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so, we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.