Crystal springs, clear-glass gold, limpid blues and greens housing gorgeous corals – all speak of the poetic beauty of transparency. A heart whose windows are ever-polished and thrown open to God is a heart that will see God as He truly is, that will bask in the sun-beam perfection of God’s goodness and that invites God into every nook and cranny of a life that is open, honest, trusting and trustworthy. This is a simple truth which can create dramatic life outcomes.
Transparency is the key which gives us entrance into God’s pristine truth. It is the windshield wiper of honesty, openness and sincerity before God which gives us clear sight into the things of God – the counsel of the Word and the profundity of His Truth. God’s Word is like a transparent mirror. As we gaze into it, we discover who we truly are as we find ourselves in the patterns of God’s nature. The more we walk in God’s truth, the more it polishes up our heart, which then colours the quality of our actions, which in turn attracts God’s favourable attention.
David, for example, was described as a man after God’s own heart who loved God with all his heart and strength. For most of his very colourful life, he lived in trusting dependence on and absolute honesty and openness before God. The quality of this man’s heart moved God to watch out for David in every possible way. Whether life is up or down, having a blank cheque from God which guarantees his beneficial outworking in any and every situation is a safety net which cannot be bested.
As we look into God’s Word, it is the see-through clarity of our heart – the spectacles of our thoughts – which determines the extent to which we can see, understand, apply, and find our way around God’s way of thinking. It is knowing God (which is different from knowing about God), having insight into His Word and understanding His very nature, which are the road-best-taken maps and highest survival guides for life.
Walking with God means being aware that His clear gaze is ever upon us; very much like the marble gaze of an Alaskan husky – piercing, penetrating, probing, perceptive, pondering, protective and princely. Psalm 139 says that God knows when we sit, when we stand and everything that pertains to us. In fact, on the ‘other’ side of life, transparency is such a powerful magnifying glass that God knows our thoughts long before they arrive upon the horizon of our thinking. He even knew us when we were knit in our mother’s womb, and ancient ages before this world came to be.
Life in the natural realm offers places to hide - cubby-holes of anonymity and convenient masks where we can just steal away when we don’t want to be seen or found. In the spirit realm, though, we are in a virtual fish-bowl. Not only is our life as visible as aquatic creatures in an aquarium, but our inner motives, secret thoughts, private ponderings and deepest desires can be X-rayed with absolute precision and placed on open exhibition before every being which exists in that invisible yet very real dimension of life.
This is why when David sinned with Bathsheba, and seemed quite satisfied that he had fully covered his tracks, it was actually the ‘talk of the town’ in the spirit realm. The forces of light and darkness were all well aware of what had taken place. In fact, God indicated that it gave God’s enemies opportunity to mock Him. The consequences for David, his family and his kingdom were tragic. For as long as we deliberately step out of bounds, God’s favour will not condone.
God’s response was to expose David, and in fact, coming out of that very dark moment in his life, David was able to say in a spirit of repentance, “God desires truth in the inward parts.” Truth could speak of bleach-white purity but also of crystal transparency. When David’s heart became clouded with motives which did not please God, he no longer saw his way clearly, began to drift and wandered into dimensions of his humanity which he probably had never thought himself capable of entering.
Daniel, on the other hand, never drifted. He lived an impeccable life. The Bible says that he threw his windows open towards Jerusalem three times a day and prayed. In other words, there was a consistent stream of communication flowing from Daniel towards God. Daniel threw his life open to God, knowing that God, who is a God of truth, can always be trusted. It gave God room to counsel, adjust, encourage and teach Daniel. It allowed God to polish the panes of Daniel’s heart, and moved God to watch out for Daniel in every way.
This really speaks of the power of the heart to shape a person and their destiny. Out of the heart come the issues of life. The heart is a window which lets God in. It is the peep-hole into a man’s very nature. The heart fountains with our thoughts, musings, motives, dreams, thinking, personal philosophies, and deep-seated desires. I like to think of the heart as luminous crystal gold or as a beautiful glass ornament etched with a floral design. When God gazes into my heart, He should see clear designs – unique patterns of me in springtime colour imprinted within a glassy three-dimensional canvas of pure Truth. He should see therein mirrored what is lovely, true, virtuous – a lucent reflection of His goodness.
Transparency is the key which gives us entrance into God’s pristine truth. It is the windshield wiper of honesty, openness and sincerity before God which gives us clear sight into the things of God – the counsel of the Word and the profundity of His Truth. God’s Word is like a transparent mirror. As we gaze into it, we discover who we truly are as we find ourselves in the patterns of God’s nature. The more we walk in God’s truth, the more it polishes up our heart, which then colours the quality of our actions, which in turn attracts God’s favourable attention.
David, for example, was described as a man after God’s own heart who loved God with all his heart and strength. For most of his very colourful life, he lived in trusting dependence on and absolute honesty and openness before God. The quality of this man’s heart moved God to watch out for David in every possible way. Whether life is up or down, having a blank cheque from God which guarantees his beneficial outworking in any and every situation is a safety net which cannot be bested.
As we look into God’s Word, it is the see-through clarity of our heart – the spectacles of our thoughts – which determines the extent to which we can see, understand, apply, and find our way around God’s way of thinking. It is knowing God (which is different from knowing about God), having insight into His Word and understanding His very nature, which are the road-best-taken maps and highest survival guides for life.
Walking with God means being aware that His clear gaze is ever upon us; very much like the marble gaze of an Alaskan husky – piercing, penetrating, probing, perceptive, pondering, protective and princely. Psalm 139 says that God knows when we sit, when we stand and everything that pertains to us. In fact, on the ‘other’ side of life, transparency is such a powerful magnifying glass that God knows our thoughts long before they arrive upon the horizon of our thinking. He even knew us when we were knit in our mother’s womb, and ancient ages before this world came to be.
Life in the natural realm offers places to hide - cubby-holes of anonymity and convenient masks where we can just steal away when we don’t want to be seen or found. In the spirit realm, though, we are in a virtual fish-bowl. Not only is our life as visible as aquatic creatures in an aquarium, but our inner motives, secret thoughts, private ponderings and deepest desires can be X-rayed with absolute precision and placed on open exhibition before every being which exists in that invisible yet very real dimension of life.
This is why when David sinned with Bathsheba, and seemed quite satisfied that he had fully covered his tracks, it was actually the ‘talk of the town’ in the spirit realm. The forces of light and darkness were all well aware of what had taken place. In fact, God indicated that it gave God’s enemies opportunity to mock Him. The consequences for David, his family and his kingdom were tragic. For as long as we deliberately step out of bounds, God’s favour will not condone.
God’s response was to expose David, and in fact, coming out of that very dark moment in his life, David was able to say in a spirit of repentance, “God desires truth in the inward parts.” Truth could speak of bleach-white purity but also of crystal transparency. When David’s heart became clouded with motives which did not please God, he no longer saw his way clearly, began to drift and wandered into dimensions of his humanity which he probably had never thought himself capable of entering.
Daniel, on the other hand, never drifted. He lived an impeccable life. The Bible says that he threw his windows open towards Jerusalem three times a day and prayed. In other words, there was a consistent stream of communication flowing from Daniel towards God. Daniel threw his life open to God, knowing that God, who is a God of truth, can always be trusted. It gave God room to counsel, adjust, encourage and teach Daniel. It allowed God to polish the panes of Daniel’s heart, and moved God to watch out for Daniel in every way.
This really speaks of the power of the heart to shape a person and their destiny. Out of the heart come the issues of life. The heart is a window which lets God in. It is the peep-hole into a man’s very nature. The heart fountains with our thoughts, musings, motives, dreams, thinking, personal philosophies, and deep-seated desires. I like to think of the heart as luminous crystal gold or as a beautiful glass ornament etched with a floral design. When God gazes into my heart, He should see clear designs – unique patterns of me in springtime colour imprinted within a glassy three-dimensional canvas of pure Truth. He should see therein mirrored what is lovely, true, virtuous – a lucent reflection of His goodness.
