The LORD Looks at the Heart

While everyone is working on their resolutions of not getting sick, achieving weight loss goals, improving money management, finding love, and other such things we tend to set goals for....is anyone working on their resolution of looking like Christ? I am. And already I'm failing.

All throughout the Old Testament, we see stories of mighty men (and wonderful women too!) who God used that were so imperfect, it's not even funny. God tends to look at the failures of society, the undesirables, the people who we tend to "SMH" at. And it just wasn't that God picked these people to accomplish His purposes, but whenever we start reading their stories, we begin to love these people and root for them as if they were the best of the best. Let's look at Moses, the most popular example in the Bible.

Moses had a humble beginning, born to a non-important Hebrew family, and discovered by royalty floating in a grass basket in the river where there were snakes, bugs, mud, etc...He spent his young adult life like royalty - rags to riches - yay! But then, he messes up. The hero (in most people's eyes and opinion) goes from Moses, the prince of Egypt, to Moses, the murderer. And even though we can justify his killing of a slave-driver for beating a slave (a fellow Hebrew), we cannot however, justify the deed of murder. It was not an execution given to Moses to carry out - by anyone. But, he did what he did and you can imagine the gasp you gave when you heard that story for the very first time.

Fast forward a few decades, after Moses had fled and lived his life in Midian as a shepherd. Our shock over his heinous crime is gone and we're back to an opinion of him that says, eh, he's okay. Plain Jane Moses with his sheep, baaaaaahhhh. But then something happens. God takes the boring, the criminal (Moses is still a murderer), and chooses him to do something amazing. God chooses Moses to be the leader of the Israelites and to bring them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Wow! What an honor! What a monumental task!

Instead of being honored and humbled that God chose him, and ignoring the cheers and hoorahs of anyone listening nearby (hypothetically), Moses screwed up. Yet again, the hero makes a fool of himself and tries to dissuade God from choosing him. Instead of trusting in the I AM to take care of matters and provide a way, instead of being excited at the prospect that his people are about to become a freed nation, Moses says no. And why did he say no? Because he had a speech impediment. And though Scripture doesn't say, I think it'd be safe to assume that fear played a big part as well....Moses did still murder someone back there and perhaps someone would still remember and punish him for it. But for now, let's look at the written reason for Moses' denial: he can't talk. Public speaking is not his forte and I'm sure some social anxiety played a role as well (I can very much relate to that!).

Our chosen hero by God is flawed. He's a murderer and.....can't even talk to people without stuttering and stumbling all over himself. And yet, God chose.....him. Fast forward a few more decades again and we see Moses, mighty leader, obedient to the LORD and undertaking the monumental task of leading millions of Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land. He's doing good, we're loving him (though some Israelites don't at times), and then it happens again. Moses messes up.

Instead of speaking to the rock as God had said, Moses struck the rock in anger. Oops. As a result, Moses will never enter the Promised Land, though God showed him mercy and allowed him to see it from a mountain top before death. The point with the brief outline of Moses' life is that 1: God chooses the unexpected, 2: God knows what He's doing when He uses someone, and 3: that person can and will still mess up.

1 Samuel 16:7, at the end of this verse it says, "but the Lord looks at the heart." Now why would God choose someone like Moses, knowing all of the things he would do to mess up? Why would he choose David, knowing that he'd commit murder and adultery? Why would he choose Solomon, knowing he'd become idolatrous and perform witchcraft? Why would he choose Jonah, knowing he'd try to run away? Why would he choose Peter, knowing that he'd deny Jesus three times? Why would he choose Saul/Paul, knowing how many Christians he murdered and imprisoned? Why indeed.

"...but the Lord looks at the heart." Sit there and read that again. God knows that we are going to mess up. It doesn't matter if we are a somebody or a nobody, we are destined to fail and fail spectacularly at times. But it is what we do with that failure, sin, or mess-up that matters. It is our attitude in any and every situation that matters. It is our heart and our relationship with God that matters. You see, when we become true servants of Christ and receive His Holy Spirit through baptism and a circumcision of the heart, we undergo a heart change. Our whole lives are spent thereafter undergoing a major heart transplant, a removing of our old calloused sinful heart and replacing it with the heart of Christ. We become repentant, humble, and are filled with a desire to obey, praise, and please the Lord.

It's not about what we do specifically or how much we do in regards to "good works", but it is about the condition of our heart. Our heart is what matters to God, the fruit that we produce. He alone sees the true us, our thoughts, our heart. We can feed the homeless all day long, but if our heart is not set on Christ, if we do not have love, it is moot. We can go to third world countries and hand out medical care, toys, Bibles, and household goodies all day long, but if our heart is not set on Christ, if there is no love, it is moot. We can go to church every Sunday, teach Sunday school class, tithe a portion of our income, and sing worship songs week end and week out.....but if our hearts are not set on being obedient to Christ, if there is no love, it is moot.

"the Lord looks at the heart." And we will be held accountable in the end for what He sees. What will He say your heart looks like? Blackened with sin? Or spotless, unblemished, clean, covered by the Blood of the Lamb, and identical to Christ? I pray each and every day that mine is the latter. So how can our hearts look like Christ, when we know we will mess up inevitably?

We can make Christ first and foremost in our life. We can repent every day and strive to keep away from sin. We can walk humbly before our God (James 4:10), becoming as lowly servants - even to the "least of these" (Matthew 25:40). We can make an effort to not conform to the patterns and customs of this world (Romans 12:2), instead being holy as our God is holy - striving for obedience to the best that we can do. (Leviticus 11:44) We can seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness! (Matthew 6:33)

Now what will that look like in your life? I challenge you to spend an hour of your day, pick one any one, and go to the Lord in prayer. Lay your heart bare to Him, ask Him to expose it, cleanse it, and purify it. Ask Him to teach you what it means to follow Christ. And then listen......Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust....and obey.