Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.
Summary: This passage provides an excellent opportunity to explore how God sees us and compare God’s view of humanity with our own.
How do you react to Paul’s words in this passage? Does it feel like God is losing the battle and Satan is winning? Do you fear that someone is bound for hell who should have been saved?
This passage provides us with an excellent opportunity to talk about two important things:
First, God “sees” us differently than we see ourselves.
Second is the importance of church discipline. (We will tackle this topic in Part II.)
Let’s begin with how God “sees” us.
First of all, the Bible tells us that God is not human (Numbers 23:19). (I realize that this statement opens up a can of worms when it comes to the question of Jesus, but bear with me for a few minutes as we work through this.)
Secondly, the Bible tells us God is Spirit (John 4:24).
Third, the Bible explains how God “sees” us:
“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
God sees our hearts.
That is the deepest part of our inner being. It is like God’s eyes can penetrate through all of our thoughts and pretense and see every aspect of who we are. We can only see the outside of a person, what they say and do. We can sometimes guess at what lies beneath the surface, but we cannot know as God knows.
In the Parable of the Weeds (aka – The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares), Jesus explains what God sees when he looks at humanity (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43).
He sees us as seeds, planted in God’s field, where we grow until it is time for the harvest. God’s enemy, Satan, also plants seeds in this field (v 28). To protect the good seed, God instructs his servants to let them grow together until the harvest (v 30). He wants to make certain the wheat is not uprooted with the weeds (v 29).
Now let’s return to today’s passage.
Paul is talking specifically about younger widows, but the principle applies to all of us. When we break our pledge to Jesus and turn to indulging the things of the flesh, we are no longer walking with God. Some go so far as to end up following Satan.
Does this surprise God? Was God unable to “see” the “seed” in the person’s heart? Of course, he can see what is inside us! All of us!
Can we “see” what God sees? No, of course not. We are not God. All we can see is what a person does or says, and the hints of what is in their heart and mind that sometimes show beneath the surface.
Application: Trust God. He knows.
Food for Thought: If we cannot “see” people’s hearts the way God sees them, how does that limit what we can do and know?
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Continue reading “1 Timothy 5:15 – How God Sees, Part I”
