God sees everything (part 1)

“The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

Zoom. I hadn’t even heard of it a year ago, except in the context of an ice lolly! And now I feel as if I talk about ‘Zooms’ all the time (Other Conferencing Platforms are available). I’m really very grateful to be able to see people as I speak to them, and give thanks to God for this new technology. But on the down side, it has revealed a side of me of that I wasn’t really aware of before, and that’s a degree of vanity. 

When my face appears in that little rectangle on the screen, I immediately check that everything looks ok and respectable. How’s my hair looking? How’s my home looking in the background? The odd assortment of dirty plates, DIY paraphernalia and random carrier bags that typically scatter our dining table is pushed well out of camera shot. And apparently, I’m not alone in this. According to the media, there’s a whole swathe of folk working from home who are dressed up smartly on the top half - the bit seen by camera - while the bottom half is all pyjama bottoms and Homer Simpson slippers (Not me this time though!).

This has made me think about how I see myself; how I want others to see me; but most importantly, how does God see me?

The Bible tells us that God sees all of us; he knows our hearts; he knows our thoughts; he sees everything we do; he even watches us while we sleep. From him no secrets are hidden. My first reaction to this thought is to be very nervous! But then the real freedom that this fact brings sinks in. God knows every aspect of us and still he loves us so deeply that he gave his son to die for us, so that we can be reunited with him. 

God knows our hearts, so let’s check our hearts today to make sure that we are seeking God and trying to restore ourselves to be more like Jesus, whatever our starting point.