Who Can "Read" You?

It was Leah's birthday and her big present was a new desk for her room. Stephen was four and very excited to be in on the secret. We emphasized over and over that he was not to tell Leah about the gift. That evening, the cake was set before her and the candles were lit. Before we could sing the first note of "Happy Birthday," Stephen blurted out "We got you a present and it's not a desk!"

Kids are easy to read, so much so that many times there's no reading involved, just listening. Adults, however are much more savvy. Knocks in life teach us to hide thoughts and feelings that might make us vulnerable. Even in our inner dialog, we may question, spin, and justify motives until we have masked the truth from ourselves. God knows, but a busy life is fertile soil for not acknowledging Him in those matters.

Hebrews 4:12 is a verse we all love and many have memorized. 

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.

It speaks of the power of the Word of God. It says the Bible is His living Word, present tense. It prompts us to pray scripture because it is effective. His Word is our sword, our offensive weapon in this world. 

But that's not the whole verse. 

...piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, 

and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

This is harder to grasp. What is that two-edged sword doing when it is piercing and dividing? 

The Word of God is certainly invasive and it penetrates our life. It is not meant to be just academic. That last phrase says the sword is discerning the thoughts and intentions of my heart. The thoughts and intentions I justified and tucked away. His Word, the powerful Word of God does that. Mohler said that when we read scripture as we should, scripture reads us to us. This is not academic but personal. "Scripture untangles the human heart and unearths sin like no other book can." 

Who is able to read you? The Father reads you well. You know that. But His Word is powerful enough to read you too, even the things no one else sees, the things you decided not to see. After all, it is alive and He is the author. Praise God that in His mercy, He uses scripture to untangle our human heart and show us where we fall short. May we meet Him in His Word and let Him speak to us through it. That's where we find a personal, authentic and growing relationship with Him.