God is watching you!

Normally, one of the first things one does after having moved to a new area is to work out where certain places are in relation to one's new home.  For example, not long after we moved to our new home in Leicester, I discovered that our local Post Office is only a short walk away (the internet can be amazingly helpful in locating places, and it was through the internet that I managed to locate our nearest Post Office).  With instructions in hand, I managed to arrive at the Post Office within a few minutes; something I saw on the journey really made me think.

As I neared the Post Office, I glanced around at the houses along the street, and noticed that attached to one particular house was a garage; on the door of the garage was painted the words, "God Is Watching You".

Not the usual kind of thing one might expect to find painted on a garage door!  So what do you make of the message?  Seeing it, I was immediately reminded of a plaque which we used to have on the wall at home when I was a little boy, which read: "Christ is the head of this house; the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation."  As a little boy I was quite happy with the notion of Christ being the head of the house, and also with the image of him being with us as we ate family meals.  The thought of Christ being a "silent listener to every conversation", however, I found a little bit creepy.  I wasn't sure that I wanted Christ to hear my every conversation!

Over the years, as I have grown in my knowledge of God and in my relationship with him, I have come to see that although the message painted on the garage door is perfectly true, it isn't something of which to be fearful or anxious.  The author of Psalm 139 writes of God,  

When my bones were being formed,
    carefully put together in my mother's womb,
when I was growing there in secret,
  You knew that I was there— 
    You saw me before I was born.

Jesus himself remarked that God's knowledge of us us so intimate that he even knows how many hairs are on our head!  The reality is that every action we have ever undertaken, every word we have spoken, and even every thought we have had, are known to God.  Over the course of my life there must have been many actions, words and thoughts which I have regretted.  And yet, although God knows all about them, he is not a God who stands over us with a big stick ready to beat us up whenever we get things wrong.

Yes, he does hate it when we human beings hurt each other, however that hurt is manifested.  When we hurt one another we hurt God, too.  But the message of the Christian gospel is that through his Son Jesus Christ, God offers us grace and forgiveness, and the opportunity to begin again.

Not only that, but God promises that from the moment we commit our lives to Christ, he will be our constant companion, to guide, encourage and strengthen.  The message, "God is watching you" is good news when we understand his love and care for us.  

As Sue and I begin a new period of our lives in new surroundings here in Leicester, the thought that God is watching over us is of immense comfort and support.