Not far
from my house, authorities have rigged a camera to snap pictures of drivers who
race through red lights. The offenders later receive in the mail a ticket along
with a “red-light photo,” which is visual proof of their traffic violation.
Sometimes
I think of God in the same way I think of that camera—He’s up there, just
waiting to catch me doing the wrong thing. While God does see our sin (Heb.
4:13), He sees and takes interest in our good deeds as well. Due to His
supernatural surveillance, God sees the size of our sacrifice when we give
money to the church or to those in need (Mark 12:41-44). He hears our private
prayers (Matt. 6:6). And when we fast, we can carry on as usual being assured
that our “Father . . . sees in secret” (v.18).
Knowing
that God sees everything frees us from thinking about the watchful eyes of
others. When we do what is right, we need no applause from onlookers; when we
sin, we do not need to worry about our reputation once we settle the issue with
God and anyone we’ve harmed. We can rest knowing that “the eyes of the Lord run
to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of
those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chron. 16:9).
Others
see what we do, but God sees why we do it. (RBC)
