Daily Readings and Thought for August 13th. “FOR YOU, YOU ONLY, KNOW THE HEARTS OF ALL … MANKIND”
The above words are part of a prayer to God Solomon made. He is seen to be the wisest king to ever live. How can God “know the hearts of all”? Is this an exaggeration?
Now during my lifetime clever human beings have discovered the ‘magic’ of making remarkable use of the different ‘waves’ in the air that were discovered in the 19th Century. Most scientists in those days still believed there was a Great Creator, and scientists such as Faraday reasoned that God could not have created air and space with nothing in it! So he, among other scientists of that age, experimented and discovered radio waves of varying frequencies.
Human cleverness since then has discovered even micro waves: their discoveries are now harnessed for the benefit of the human race, think of the way this message is reaching you!. It is telling us to think carefully about the unlimited powers the Creator possesses!!
We live in an age of wonders as to what us human beings, that God has created, can do – so should we not be ready to think deeply about what God himself can do and has always done? Surely he sees and knows all, remember Paul’s words to the idol worshipping people of Athens. He told them about the One true God, saying, “In Him we live and move and have our being”[Acts 17 v.28] Think what those words mean! Our reading of Solomon’s long prayer at the dedication of the Temple prompted these thoughts – what in depth mediations they lead on to!! Do they for you?.
Consider the full context of the words at the top. “Whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know all the hearts of all the children of mankind), that they may fear you all the days that they live …”[1 Kings 8 v.38-40]
Does God “know” your heart? This leads us to realize the only way for our lives to have real meaning – eternally! We meditate on Paul’s words to Timothy: he is told to tell people, that they should “set their hopes … on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy … to be rich in good works … thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” [1 Tim. 6 v.18,19]
Those who do this know that God “knows the hearts of all”
Let us all realize the wonder of this – to the full – as Solomon did.
