Known and Loved

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. Mark 7:21–22

D.L. MOODY
If a man should advertise that he could take a correct photograph of people’s hearts, do you believe he would find any customers? There is not a man among us whom you could hire to have his photograph taken if you could photograph the real man. We got to have our faces taken, with our carefully arranged clothes and hair, and if the artist flatters us, we say, “Oh, yes, that’s a first-rate likeness,” and we pass it around among our friends. But let the real man be brought out, the photograph of the heart, and see if we will pass that around among our neighbors! Why, we would not want our own wives to see it! We would be frightened even to look at it ourselves.

ERWIN LUTZER
The grace of God extends to those who are in need, those who are willing to face their sin honestly. You show me someone who is wretched and broken down, I will show you someone to whom the grace, mercy, attention, and the love of Christ is extended. Jesus is our High Priest in heaven and He intercedes for us, He reminds God the Father that we have been purchased at high cost. We have been bought. We have been redeemed. We are special and we belong to Him, and He knows everything about us.
Moody was right: Within us are the seeds of every kind of evil. I want to invite you today to come to Jesus, who can forgive even those sins we attempt to hide. He takes our life with its failures, and says in effect, “If you come to me, I will forgive your sin and use your past to show my grace. Come to me, you’ve been away from home too long.”

PRAYER
Father, let me be honest about my deep need of your constant grace. Forgive and restore me as only you can.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
What do you think when you hear that Christ loved you even though you were a sinner?

In what areas of your life are you living away from God?