A man in the Chicago area had a secret. And he hid it for 26 years! His name is Charles Price, and what people found out was amazing.
It was recently discovered that he had in his house an alligator. A long time ago, Charles got the gator when it was a baby. And he kept it. Over the years it grew to over six feet in length and a couple hundred pounds in weight. Most of the time it stayed in a big cage in his basement. But every now and then he would let it out in the back yard.
Finally, after 26 years, his secret was found out. An appliance repairman was working in the basement when he heard something stirring around. He did some exploring, lifted a cover, and saw the gator. Man, I bet he was shocked!
Anyway, the gator is fine. And Charles will probably have to answer for this, because it is against the law and not a good idea to do what he did. I doubt the court will throw the book at him too hard. At least I hope they don't. Maybe it'll just be a little fine and a "Don't ever do that again" kind of talk. It doesn't sound like he was trying to hurt the animal or do anything terrible to anyone.
When we look at people, we just never know everything that's happening in their lives. There is so much beneath the surface of what we see in folks. It's impossible to know it all. This includes our neighbors, friends, and family.
Here are a few thoughts to consider about this...
[1] We should remind ourselves that there is always more than what meets the eye when we deal with people. This includes people who are close to us. It's just the truth: I don't know everything about you. You don't know everything about me. We don't know everything about anyone. I'm talking about good, not-so-good, and trivial things. The sooner we accept this reality, the less we will be surprised when we learn things about one another.
[2] God knows everything about us, and we can keep no secrets from Him. He sees and hears all that goes on in your life and my life. Nothing is hidden from Him. Absolutely nothing. Psalm 139:1 says, "Lord you have examined me and you know all about me." And verse 3 states, "You know everything I do." He knows when we succeed. He knows when we hurt. And He knows when we fail. And the truth is, this is a good thing. We should be glad that God knows us thoroughly. That enables Him to understand us and work with each of us in the way we need it most.
God knew about Charles and the secret gator.
God knows all about the public and private aspects of your life and my life.
That's just one more proof that He is awesome.
And here's the best part of it all: God knows everything about us and He still loves us anyway!
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