He Knows...

"Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything." 1 John 3:18-20 (NLT)

"He knows everything"...

Remember how the bible recounts the history of the creation of the world and how God set Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? How about when Adam ate the fruit from the one tree that God said was forbidden ... and what Adam did afterward? 

"When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”" Genesis 3: 8-10 (NLT)

Adam had just opened up the world - a world that God had freshly created and declared to be good, to the corrosive blight of sin, disease, and death on all of the generations that would follow him on the earth. The world, perfectly created by God and untouched by disease and decay, was now corrupted by the invitation of Adams cancerous sin ... and Adam's only hope of salvation at that point was the confession of his sin in the hope that God would have mercy on him. So what did Adam do? ... He "hid" from God. Worse yet, he compounded the error of his own transgression by attempting to put the blame on Eve for his own personal decision to accept that fruit from her and take that fateful bite of forbidden fruit.

This isn't just a story - it's history. And it's a historical tragedy of disobedience, disregard and compromise that's been being replayed over and over again by men, women and children alike ever since. So many of us in the world have made wrong choices, choices that require God's forgiveness and healing if we're to have any hope of being made right with the God who gave us life and be saved from eternal destruction. But like Adam, who was unwilling to confront and confess his own sin honestly, there are those who attempt to hide from God or reason Him away as if by doing so they will escape accountability. Unfortunately for them, and ultimately, there's no hiding the naked truth from God ... and unless they repent on God's terms, there'll be no avoiding His final judgment either. 

"The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be shouted from the housetops for all to hear! “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear." Luke 12:2-5 (NLT)

While the book of Genesis and the recounting of mankind's corruption and fall as a species of God's creation was played out and documented many centuries ago, its historic tale is as fresh for many as the moment that you read this. There are many who try to deny, hide or ignore their own sin - some of them even having confessed Christ with their lips, will attempt to excuse themselves and go on without actually delivering true submission and obedience to the sovereign God who will judge the naked truth of their hearts in the end. As with Adam's case, omniscient God knows the truth clearly and always.

"Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith."  Galatians 6:7-10 (NLT)

Adam didn't fool God and neither Adam's sin nor his location were actually hidden. The same is true for each of us. We're accountable to God for everything we we say and do and as Christ Himself pointed out, even or thoughts can convict us of bringing sin into the most holy and intimate of relationships. Our compromises, mistakes, choices and character are clearly seen by God and the content of our heart is perfectly known to Him. Those facts leave us with little choice but to be honest with God and to both quickly and honestly confess our flaws to Him and repent of them (turn away from them).

"The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD."
Lamentations 3:22-26 (NLT)

Fortunately for us, the true and earnest acceptance Christ's sacrifice makes God's forgiveness available to us and our true submission to the process of God's ongoing sanctification of us makes possible the pruning from our heart, mind and character those things that would be offensive to Him. Religion is not what God wants from us. Honest, submissive, intimate and obedient relationship is what He seeks from us - the most perfect marriage of heart and spirit - with the most perfect Creator and lover of hearts. His perfect message to us, that the world seems to increasingly revile - the bible, tells us how to have it. The world will draw His terrible judgement on itself - there's no hiding from it. We have the opportunity though to receive His mercy and reside in the eternal bliss of relationship with Him, but the naked truth of our hearts will speak to our destination. It's never hidden from Him. We have no choice but to be honest in our pursuit to know Him and in the sincerity of our hearts to be obedient to the spirit of our relationship with Him and to what He's said, ... or too late, find ourselves guilty of choices that may prove to have been nothing more than offensive to the most intimate lover of hearts.

"No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NLT)