In the midst of our Lenten journey, God doesn’t see us as everyone else sees us.
People around us may see us as cool, successful, unattractive, popular, old, whatever. It doesn’t matter at all how others may see us. God sees our hearts, sees us as we really are.
Perhaps we wish we had God fooled, like those we’ve led to believe that we’re less frightened, more confident, happier than we really are.
Or perhaps we’re deeply grateful that God sees through all the shallow, negative judgments which so many people have placed on us. Probably it’s both.
Our Lord, to our joy and to our sorrow, looks into our hearts and sees us as we really are. In Lent, that’s a call for introspection: to confess that we have not loved our Lord with our whole hearts, nor loved our neighbors as ourselves.
In Lent, it’s especially important that we confess our sinfulness as specifically as we’re able. In what ways have we failed God and ourselves? Because we can’t hide from God, we dare not use all our usual ways to avoid our sinfulness. We’re used to denying our sins, minimizing them, excusing them, blaming them on others.
This Lent, let’s examine ourselves, asking God to search our hearts. We benefit from naming our sins, our needs, and losses, and failings. And we admit to God that only by his grace and guidance can we find healing and help.
Thanks to G. Edward Whetstone
What about YOURSELF might YOU be hiding from God this Lent?
BROKEN THINGS CAN BECOME BLESSINGS IF YOU LET GOD DO THE MENDING!!
My Commentary:
Lent strips away illusions.
All year long we live beneath labels. Successful. Forgettable. Strong. Weak. Admired. Ignored. We are measured by appearance, achievement, popularity, age. Others form opinions quickly, and sometimes we quietly accept their verdicts as truth.
But God does not read résumés. He reads hearts.
Scripture reminds us in the First Book of Samuel 16:7 that while people look at the outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart. That can be both comforting and unsettling. Comforting, because shallow judgments lose their power before God. Unsettling, because the masks we wear before others are transparent to God.
We may wish we could fool God — just as we sometimes fool ourselves. We project confidence when we are afraid. We project contentment when we are restless. We project virtue when we know our love has been partial and selective. Yet God sees what lies beneath, not to condemn, but to heal.
Lent invites courageous honesty. Not vague admissions. Not general regret. But specific reflection. Where have I withheld love? Where have I chosen pride over humility, indifference over compassion, resentment over forgiveness? We are skilled at minimizing, excusing, and blaming. Lent gently removes those defenses.
To ask God to search our hearts is an act of trust. It means we believe His gaze is merciful, not malicious. When we name our sins, we are not informing God of something He does not know. We are opening ourselves to grace.
Healing begins when truth is spoken. And the One who sees us most clearly loves us most completely.
This Lent, that is both our challenge and our hope.
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HAVE A BLESSED FRIDAY!!
