"For he knew what was in man." -- John 2:25.
As I often do, today I took a few progress pics and vids at the gym. In one of them I got to see something I was doing wrong -- in this case, not raising both arms at the same speed while doing dumbbell incline chest presses. This is what I saw:
I wonder. What would happen if we could wear glasses that would enable us to see people, not as they appear, but as they really are in their hearts? Jesus needed no glasses like that. He already knew what was in the heart of every person. Nobody could deceive him. He saw through the good works of the Pharisees to the rank hypocrisy within. He also saw in Nathaniel an Israelite in whom was no guile.
How then can we truly know ourselves? The answer is obvious: through the word of God. The Bible is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Think of the Bible as a mirror in which we see ourselves as God sees us. A Christian loves himself properly when he sees himself as God sees him -- a lost sinner -- and then, trusting Christ, as not his own but bought with a price -- the personal property of his Lord.
God's perspective is always the only true one. All things are naked and exposed to his eyes. We may keep up a good front, but he sees the heart in its darkest recesses.
And that is a very sobering thought.