your Father, who sees what is done in secret...

Posted 07 Jan 2013

Just read Matthew 6:2-4, 6:5-6 & 6:17-18.¹

What struck me about these passages of the Bible is the phrase your Father, who sees what is done in secret…

That reminded me that our father in heaven sees everything. He knows everything we have done in the past, all that we will do today & even all that we will ever do in the future.
I think that will generate 1 of 2 responses in us: it will either make you glad, or squirm like crazy! We will be glad if we realise that being fully & completely known by God means that we share an incredible intimacy & deep relationship with our loving heavenly Father. In that case we will want to be known by Him.

On the other hand, we will squirm like crazy if we are at all ashamed of the things we have done in our past. I think almost everyone has done things that they would rather not have done. I certainly have. So our initial response tends to be squirming! But the Good News is… if you’re a Christian then Jesus has taken everything you’ve ever done wrong, or that you might be ashamed of, & he has paid for those errors IN FULL. Therefore, we no longer have to be ashamed of the past… for it is gone, paid for, forgotten by God the Father. The Good News is we can now com boldly into the presence of God the Father, because our past wrong-doings (& embarrassments) have gone.

Of course Satan (the accuser of Christians) will try to remind us of our past deficiencies. But all we have to do is tell him the truth our sins have been “paid in full!” Their gone, sunk into the depths, forgotten by God, & therefore WE ought to forget them too!
Now that really is Good News!

[1]
Matthew 6:2-4 (ANIV)
[Jesus said,] “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:5-6 (ANIV)
[Jesus said,] “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 6:17-18 (ANIV)
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
18 so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Comments

Comments are turned off for this article