August 28, 2004

THE OMNISCIENT ONE

"Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, 'Do you live me?' He said, 'Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you' " (John 21:17, NIV).

In response to the question, "Do you love me?" Peter twice answered his Lord in the affirmative. The third time, he replied, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

In this statement, Peter acknowledged Christ's omniscience. It was his way of saying, "You know whether I love you or not because you know my thoughts." Given Peter's track record of shamefully denying Jesus three times in the past; he now decided to let Jesus be the final judge of his motives. By his confession, "Lord, you know all things," Peter had expressed a great truth. As the Omniscient One, Jesus knows everything about us. Jesus knows the motives that prompt all our actions.

Christ knows everything about our secret and public life with precise accuracy. Only the Omniscient One whom God has appointed to judge the world (see Acts 17:31) has such competence. Because He knows all things, He is able to judge us not merely by what we do, but by why we do what we do. He knows the hidden motives of our hearts.

The One who knows all things, is the empathetic and compassionate Saviour. This attribute qualifies Him to provide encouragement and strength to us in our complex pilgrimage to perfection. Referring to those who follow Christ, Ellen G. White wrote: "They will realize that His all-seeing eye is ever upon them and that the most secret thought is known to Him. The character, the motives, the desires and purposes, are as clear as the light of the sun to the eye of the Omnipotent."--Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 147.

My Prayer Today: Lord, because You know all things, I submit to Your righteous judgments. Amen.