In Lesson 8 of The Truth Project, we saw Flash, a tatoo ink artist, rail against the church, using profane and bleeped out language to express his anger at "the church." It wasn't hard to see that under the mask of his anger was deep pain from past experiences that crippled his outlook on life and the church. Many wanted to respond by reaching out to flash and helping him understand that the God whom he cursed is a God that passionately loves him.
Jesus was able to perfectly see behind the mask - he knew the heart and experiences and deep hurts and longings of every person. In John 2:23-25, many people excitedly believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but he did not entrust himself to them, because he knew that their human nature was very fickle. We see in Jesus a discerning spirit, insight into human character and "commitment." Jesus knew the heart and spirit of every person he encountered. No one could pull the wool over his eyes.
A rich young man came up to Jesus and wanted to be one of the disciples - he sincerely wanted to follow Jesus. Most of us would have told the man, "great, we need someone like you on our team. Come join us." Not Jesus, he saw behind the nice appearance and sincere spirit that this was someone for whom his wealth was of paramount importance. Jesus told him to give it away and then come follow him. The man went away sad, because he had no intention of giving up his wealth to follow Jesus.
While we will never discern like Jesus, we can develop a discerning spirit that helps us be more effective in living out this life of faith. As we spend time in the Word of God and yield our spirits to our Heavenly Father in prayer, He gives us a stronger sense of right and wrong, he gives us insight into what is false or hypocritical or misleading. We are less gullible and more real in understanding people and life. We gain a wisdom that can't be taught, but is only caught from time with our Heavenly Father.
Discernment also requires holiness in our lives. Giving in to sin and temptation interferes with our spiritual antennas, our spiritual sensitivity and kills discernment. Passionate pursuit of a life that is set apart for God's purposes results in a discerning spirit. Out of time with our Lord Jesus Christ comes both authenticity in our own lives and sensitivity to what is authentic and real in the lives of others.
Most people live with masks covering up the real person. God is in the business of getting behind the mask and helping people come to grips with who they are, why they are like they are, and how they can become who He intended them to be. We can help in that process by being sensitive, authentic, and gracious, yet also truthful and direct - not avoiding the truth for the sake of offending, but speaking truth in love. Jesus was very direct in confronting people, but he was also gracious in responding to confession and repentance.
I pray that this week you will sense the discernment and insight that comes out of your time with your Heavenly Father, who knows how to reveal truth to His children.
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