“Nathanael answered and said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.””
–
John1:48
“I saw you!”
Jesus not only saw Nathaniel but knew him through and through because Jesus is God.
There was nothing Nathaniel could hide from Jesus, either his thoughts or
actions of past and present. Fortunately for Nathaniel, Jesus chose to declare
him righteous. Indeed, God sees and knows everything. He knows us long before
we were born, nay, before we were formed in our mother’s womb. On the contrary, we don't know even who we are,
particularly how sinful we are. The Lord searches the heart and understands who
exactly we are. Bad news: our hearts are deceitful above all things, even our
best deeds are like filthy rags; we are all depraved sinners.
Yesterday I was so
annoyed with my slow laptop, I hit my keyboard once, running out of patience.
Then I realized a neighbour could be seeing me because my window and door were
left open. I was so relieved that nobody saw it. Yet, I knew I should have exercised
more patience publicly or privately. Sometimes, we, sinners, are okay with sins,
and reluctant to repent if nobody sees our sins. When we do that, we are acting
as if God does not see us.
We love the praises of
man and sometimes would do anything to get them. The greatest and sweetest
praise of man achieves nothing if God does not approve of us. Even our conscience
will torment us if we have a double-standard life: one in private and the other
in public. God demands that we live for Him alone. We do not live for man’s
approval. We do not live even for our self-approval. Remember, God is always watching
us. If we are Christians, God sees us in Christ, and therefore He will declare
us righteous no matter what. Yet if we sin, He will surely chasten us because God
chastens whom He loves. Would you practice the presence of God at all times?