O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psa 139:1–12 NRSV)
“He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.” When I was a kid I loved singing that song. Now that I have gotten older I find it quite odd that we sing those words to our children. Who wants some random creepy guy knowing when we go to sleep and when we wake up? I don’t want someone lurking around in the shadows watching me to see if I am good or bad!
The words of this song are fictional, but the words of the psalmist are true. None of us live our lives hidden and tucked away. The God who knows all and sees all knows our every thought, our every deed, our every word. Try as we might to stay tucked away, out of God’s sight, he still sees us and knows us exactly as we are.
That can be quite frightening. I’d certainly like to keep parts of my life hidden from God. My thoughts, for one, I’d like to keep to myself. Many of my deeds I’d like to take back. My words have often been destructive. But no matter how hard I try, God sees me exactly as I am.
If Santa does, in fact, know when I am bad and good, then I have hope for nothing more than a lump of coal this year. But thanks be to God that He sees me exactly as I am and says these three words: I love you!
God loves you more than you can ever fathom. I pray you know that love today.