God Knows Your Heart [Luke 16]
10"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.
11"Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?
12"And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?
13"No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth."
14Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.
15And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.
God knows my heart. I have said that phrase and heard others say it many times but never in this context. Usually when I say "God knows my heart," I am referring to having been misunderstood by others or my actions weren't received the way I wanted to intend them. So I use this statement to rationalize or excuse the mix up. But in this passage Jesus is saying the opposite. You are trying to justify yourself to others but God knows the truth. The heart of man esteems things that are detestable in the sight of God.
It is noteworthy that Jesus says these things in the context of money. Does He know my secret thoughts about money? Those thoughts of trying to figure out how I can acquire things without paying full price for them? Those thoughts that I dare not utter out loud because it scares me to think I even have them? Yes, He knows. My unfaithfulness in the use of money has not escaped His notice. But even more than that He knows what thoughts that have not been "taken captive in obedience to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5) and He wants to bring those things to light. He knows my heart and He is not surprised when the suppressed thoughts come bubbling to the surface. Thankfully 1 John 3:18 tells us that when "our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things." (Holman CBS). When those thoughts and actions come out the rest of that passage in 1 John 3 tells us that His Spirit reminds us that we are His little children, that we are of the truth, that we have confidence before God and that He remains in us because Christ laid down His life for us. (His sacrifice paid for those very things.)
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that "the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints and marrow: it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart. No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account."
He does know all the intentions of my heart. But "Jesus the Son God - let us hold fast to the confession," has made it possible for us to "approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time." (Hebrews 4:14, 16 Holman, CSB)
Verna McCrillis, 3/11/2009