Man looks at the outward appearance, whereas God looks at the heart. God rejected Saul, and chose David in his place – a man after God’s own heart.
Our hearts are revealed in three primary ways: What we think, what we say, and what we do. Nothing reveals who we are like these three things.
Our daily walk with Christ reveals the true nature of our relationship with Him – and the true nature of our hearts. We are what we do daily. Whatever it is we find ourselves engaging in day after day – that is what we are. That is what we value. Maybe it’s reading. Maybe it’s work. Perhaps it’s spending time with family and friends, or watching television, or Bible Study, or prayer. But no matter how we slice it, the truth of who we are is revealed in how we spend our days. What is in our heart will directly impact our priorities, and how we spend our time.
It is easy to look good, and to appear as though we have it all together. External evidence of Christianity can be easy to produce. Church attendance, acts of service, generous monetary contributions, big smiles and kind words, these all paint the right picture, don’t they? But the truth of who we are is revealed in our daily walk with Christ – which happens, largely, behind closed doors, and emanates from the recesses of our hearts. This is where secret sacrifices – the ones no one ever knows about except us and God, take place. This is where knees become scaly and begin to peel because of the time spent on them in prayer – not so much for our own needs, but for the needs of others. This is where spontaneous worship breaks forth, and we sing and Dance like David did – with no one in the house but us and God. This is where we sit down and begin to read and study God’s Word, only to find that an hour or two have passed, and we can’t bear to tear ourselves away. This is where someone hurts – I mean really hurts us, and instead of becoming angry and bitter, we choose to freely forgive, because we recognize we have been forgiven.
Walking with Christ on a daily basis is not an easy thing. Anyone who tells you that living the Christian life is easy is either lying, or dreadfully misinformed. The Bible is clear – this is not for the faint at heart. Jesus’ own words reveal this truth. He said that those who would come after Him (i.e., walk with Him) must:
- Deny themselves.
- Take up their cross (be willing to die).
- Follow Him (live like Him, emulate Him, become like Him).
But the benefits are so worth it. The peace and joy that emerge from a life lived with Christ are phenomenal. There is nothing that matches the beauty of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
