For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those whose hearts are blameless toward Him… – 2 Chronicles 16:9 (AMP)
Upon reading the first part of this sentence, I feel comforted. Knowing God’s eyes are roaming the Earth, I long to be seen by Him. I love the idea that God Himself would peer into the population of this world and His eyes would fall upon ME and His heart would desire to stand strong on my behalf. But then I read the second half of that sentence. He’s looking for hearts that are blameless before Him. Oh. That’s an all-together different matter. Would my heart fit into that category? Now is when I want to shrink away and hide from the righteous eyes of a just God. See, I’m a little messy inside. Okay, maybe a lot messy. Should His eyes fall upon me, I would feel such shame and holy fear. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden, I may try to hide because of the ugliness I know I have inside…the ugliness I battle on a daily basis…sometimes winning…sometimes losing.
But then I wonder, how could His eyes fall upon anyone and find them blameless? We all fall short every single day (Romans 3:23). Even those who are really good at not sinning outwardly, they still struggle with inward sins: lust, jealousy, unrighteous anger. Is 2 Chronicles 16:9 included in the Bible as some kind of teaser? No. God is not One to toy with His beloved. So if it’s in His Word, it must be attainable. And if it’s attainable, how do we get there?
Jesus.
But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin]. – 1 Corinthians 1:30 (AMP)
If we’ve accepted Jesus as our Savior, we are made righteous by the blood He shed on the Cross. As a matter of fact, we can’t be any more right than we are the minute we accept Christ as our Savior. But there’s another matter that tugs at my heart. After I was saved, I was still me. I still struggled with many of the things that made me go the wrong way before being saved. Yet 2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP) says,
“Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!”
If I’m a new creature in Christ, then why do I continue to fail? Well, even Paul, the greatest evangelist in history, struggled with these things:
I can anticipate the response that is coming: “I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not. Isn’t this also your experience?” Yes. I’m full of myself—after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.
But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.- Romans 7:15-25 (MSG)
Okay, so Paul had the same problem, and He too understood by the end of the passage that Jesus is the answer. Still, I ponder how new creatures, even disciples, continue to struggle with old behaviors? I believe it’s because our spirits are made new in an instant, but God is helping us to work out the Truth of that reality–from our spirits into our flesh–over a period of time. If we did it all at once, the shock to our systems might be too much for us to endure. But, as we continue to grow in Christlikeness–seeking the heart of God in His Word and allowing Him to deepen His work in us every day–we are taken from one level of faith and righteousness to the next…moving only as quickly as our maturity in Christ allows.
And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMP)
I’m not suggesting we should be lax in trying to live righteously. We must always strive for a level beyond where we currently stand. I’m not recommending a lackadaisical approach to Christianity at all. I’m just saying that many of us tend to be very black and white where God and sin are concerned and, while that’s good in many situations, we need to be aware that kind of rigidity can also lead to law-living and religiosity–which God really has no use for. Our Father is a God of mercy and abundant grace. Yes, He does require a certain level excellence in our living for Him, but He looks upon our hearts–not our outcomes–to see if we’re striving to live for Him. God never asks us to do anything, including living righteous lives, without first equipping us to do it. He doesn’t tell us to live blamelessly without providing Jesus to absorb the brunt of that blame. He is calling us to a higher level, and often those levels are frighteningly high, but He never does it without offering His hand to help pull us up.
So when His eyes are roaming the earth looking for one whose heart is blameless before Him, I don’t have to cower in shame. My face is unveiled and it shines with a passionate desire to do His Will. I know He’s not looking at my outward appearances, but He’s smiling upon the unfading beauty of my gentle and quiet spirit and He finds it precious in His sight. He cherishes this heart that trusts in and relies wholly upon Him for grace that He renews every morning. Here am I, El Roi…the God who sees me…rest your eyes upon me and be pleased by your good and faithful servant. I’m far from perfect but I am made blameless and righteous by Your Son and I thank You for standing strong on my behalf!
220 Gal 