Yes, even THAT
Do you often think about the fact that God knows everything? Not just the stuff you want to tell Him. Not just the stuff others know. Everything. Yes, even THAT.
Each Sunday, very early in the worship service, I lead us in a prayer knows as the “Collect for Purity,” which begins, “Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid.” It is a prayer that catches me short every week. And well it should!
The Psalm for this Sunday speaks of the same truth:
LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *
you know my sitting down and my rising up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You trace my journeys and my resting-places *
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *
but you, O LORD, know it altogether. (Psalm 139:1-3)
It is rare in our human relationships to be so secure in a relationship that we have no fear that if the person really knew everything about us, they would still love us just the same.
But that is the wondrous thing about this truth of God. He knows it all, and He loves us anyway! There is nothing you can say or do that will end God’s love for you! There is nothing in your past that He isn’t ready to forgive!
When you hear that opening “Collect for Purity” on Sunday, after that tinge of “uh-oh,” give thanks for a God who knows it all and still loves you more than you can imagine!
This column originally appeared in the January 14 issue of St. John’s eNews. Click here for the full issue.
If you are reading this at a different time, you may click here for the current eNews.
