Seen

“Mom, play the song from camp!” I scrolled through my playlist and moments later Mimi was singing “God, you know our hearts…beyond the surface.”

Indeed, He does. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God counseled Samuel not to look at the appearance or size of the future king David and said “Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.” And now, in Matthew’s gospel, this same God has appeared in the flesh to tell us what kind of heart the Lord is looking for.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus addresses how we are to give, to pray and to fast. He presupposes these are acts of devotion regularly practiced by those who follow Yahweh, but as in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks not only of the action but about the disposition of the heart that precipitates the action. He reminds us that our Heavenly Father sees in secret and so there is no reason to draw attention to our own piety. God sees. God knows. It doesn’t matter if others know.

A recent tik tok trend utilizes a split screen. On one side of the screen, a dramatic video plays. On the other, someone watches the video, recording their emotional response for everyone else to see. Why is this popular?

We are a people fixated on being seen. We’ve put our lives on display through carefully cultivated words and imagery intended to impress the masses. But to what end? Whose glory are we living for?

Jesus warned not to live seeking the applause of people, to be noticed, or to receive gain, because that is what the hypocrites do. For the people of God, even if no human sees or knows what good we’ve done, our Father does, and our reward is with Him.

Sisters and Brothers, you are seen; known by the God who searches every heart and understands the intentions of every thought. May we live to magnify Him alone.