One of the buzzwords in relationships is transparency. We want the people in our lives to “open up” and share their innermost thoughts and feelings; we want to know their heart. Most of us are afraid of this transparency because we feel extremely vulnerable and, for the most part, uncomfortable. We are told to “not tell everything,” “don’t say anything that could come back to haunt you,” among other things, and so even though we can sometimes comfortably connect with others on an intimate level, being transparent is another matter.
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The irony is that genuinely intimate relationships require transparency in order to be fully effective. There cannot be any areas of our lives that are considered “off limits” because, in a number of ways, transparency speaks to our integrity and character; the very core of who were are individuals. In the natural, the absence of transparency breeds hurt, insecurity, uncertainty, confusion, to name a few.
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In the spiritual realm, it is mandatory to have transparency with the Almighty if we desire fellowship with Him. The psalmist David writes, “Behold, thou desirest in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom” (Psalm 51:6), and answered his own question, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?” with “He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation” (24:3-5). Jesus Himself told the woman at the well, “…the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23). Genuine worship involves purity of heart and mind; a state that can only be attained when we lay ourselves open to the will and workings of the Holy Spirit.
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That is why I love David’s prayer in Psalm 139:2, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting,” to which we could add, “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin … Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (51:2, 10). For the expressed purpose of enjoying a healthy relationship with God, he laid himself bare, he made himself transparent before Him who knew him better than he knew himself. Â
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It is important to note that David did not trust himself to search himself and neither can we. There are things we would overlook and excuse; areas of our lives that we would not shine a light on. David entrusted that responsibility to God and so should we. He overlooks and excuses nothing. His Holy Spirit penetrates the very dark corners of our hearts and minds and can bring back to memory things we need to deal with that we have long forgotten or conveniently ignored. How far are you willing to go in your relationship with the Father? How transparent are you willing to become? Remember, if He is not Lord of all areas of our lives, He is not Lord at all.Â
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