John 1:43-51 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

What does God know about us? Does he see us in our private moments, when we are alone? Does know our thoughts, our desires, our hopes and dreams? Is he aware of our fears, our concerns, even our guilt and shame? Does he know everything about us?

Though no other human being knows what is in our private thoughts, as Paul acknowledged in his letter to the Corinthians ("For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him?" 1 Corinthians 2:11), Nathanael discovered that one man, Jesus of Nazareth, knew all about him, even in a private moment as he stood alone beneath a fig tree.

The Gospels indicate, on many occasions, that Jesus knew what people were thinking. Since knowledge of man's thoughts is attributed only to God (Psalm 44:21 "For he knows the secrets of the heart"), Jesus' divine knowledge reveals his divine nature.

The amazing thing is, though Jesus knows everything about us, even the bad things, he does not condemn us, but seeks to forgive, restore and heal us in body, soul and mind. He gave his life for us that we might be whole. Even when our consciences bother us, the Bible assures us of God's love and forgiveness in Christ.

"By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything." 1 John 3:19-21

Come and hear more this Sunday at 10:30 a.m.