None of us would feel happy about it if somehow it were possible for others to see what we are really like beneath our masks. Imagine if you had a little screen on your forehead on which someone else could read exactly what you were thinking about - like a Twitter feed, constantly updating with the latest thought to cross your mind! It is a sobering, even chilling thought because even in our best moments there are things that flit across our minds that we would never want to see the light of day. And in our worst moments? What about those harboured, dwelt upon bitternesses? Or the lusts and cravings, resentments, deceits and downright lies that we toy with and indulge? The feed would not make for pleasant reading.

In the previous post I wrote that God sees us all as we really are - He "knows the hearts of all the children of mankind" (1 Kings 8:39). He doesn't need us to have a screen on our foreheads, He sees and knows it all anyway. Our hearts and minds are completely open and laid bare to the pure and holy gaze of Almighty God. What does He see? Well, it is best for us to be honest. We can't deceive God, only ourselves and we will always deceive ourselves into thinking we are better than we really are. God sees our hearts - our inner lives, thoughts, loves - for what they truly are. He says things like this, "My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes" (Jeremiah 16:17) and "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 point is that the 'feed' doesn't make for pleasant reading - in our own eyes if we can be honest with ourselves - and certainly not in God's. If only we can accept that, then there is hope for a change - a literal change of heart. God promises that if we go to Him to own up to our sins, even those that are contained within our hearts and never escape into public view, and seek His mercy and forgiveness then we will find it. "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin...Create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalm 51:1-2,10). Because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, giving His life as the sacrifice to pay the penalty for sin, this is a prayer you can be certain God will answer. Confessing your sins to God and believing in Jesus Christ as your Saviour is the way to find forgiveness and a new start.