January 10

God Looketh on the Heart

Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and decrees of the Lord. — Luke 1:6 BSB

This doesn’t mean they were completely without fault, but that their lives were so sincere and faithful that God didn’t find anything to blame or rebuke in them. This is beautifully illustrated in one of Mrs. Herrick Johnson’s tender poems. A mother is sitting at her work, her mind troubled as she thinks about her imperfect life. She had wanted to serve God and had tried to do so, but it seemed to her that she had failed. Then she looked at the garment she was mending and noticed “an odd little bundle of mending and patchwork,” done by another hand. Her heart softened as she realized that her little daughter had tried to help her. Even though the child had made a mess of it, the mother understood it was the best she could do, and she felt a deep love for her child. Then a voice whispered to her, “Are you more tender toward your child than I am toward you?” In an instant, she understood, and her troubled heart found peace.

For I thought, when the Master Builder
Comes down His temple to view,
To see what rents must be mended,
And what must be built anew,

Perhaps, as He looks over the building,
He will bring my poor work to the light,
And seeing the mistakes and blunders,
And how far it all is from right,

He will feel as I felt for my darling,
And say as I said for her:
“Dear child! she wanted to help me,
And love for me was her motive;

And for the true love that is in it,
The work shall seem perfect as mine;
And because it was done with love,
I will crown it with divine praise.”