Jeremiah 17: 9-10

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”- Jeremiah 17:9-10

The God of the Bible ~ the One who created all things and holds all things together ~ He sees us as no one else can. In fact, He sees us even as we ourselves cannot. He sees us for who we really are. This can be a scary reality for some. Those who profess Christ as their Lord and Savior but live lives in opposition to His Word don't like to hear it. Those who don't know God personally and are looking for reasons not to approach the possibility can use this as a reason to stay away for fear of condemnation. Even those who profess Christ as Lord and Savior and strive to live according to His Word but are struggling with a secret sin want to gloss over this passage and/or point out it is from the Old Testament and therefore no longer necessary to apply to their lives since they now live under grace.

No matter who it is who is reading it, the verse is truth. The beauty is knowing we can approach the throne of grace with confidence in repentance and desire for a clean heart. Realizing the Jesus we interact with is the very One who didn't belittle the woman at the well but spoke truth and grace to her allows us to come out of hiding and live freely before Him. It also allows us...no, demands that we...live in love. Our actions ~ the ways we treat others, the ways we talk, the ways we do business, etc ~ those are what reflect our true hearts.

Ask God to show you (in His amazingly tender way) who you are. Allow yourself to be cleansed from the inside out and live in obedience to Him. Then, live in a way that allows others to, as well. People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. God cares...deeply, passionately, for each of us. If you are saying your life is devoted to Him, are you showing others how much you care or how much you know? What will your reward be?