"But God Knows My Heart"

Do you truly want God to know your heart?

I hear the phrase "God knows my heart" often during my gospel outreach conversations, such as with a young man named Eric. It usually comes after a person has agreed that they are sinful - or at least "not perfect" - and as a way of saying that they are still a good person with good intentions, even though they "make mistakes" once in a while.

So do good intentions make us good people in God's eyes? Or is it true that, as the saying goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"? Don't we want God to know our heart at least enough to know our good intentions? Aren't our intentions good for something in God's eyes?

That "road to hell" quote is actually not found in the Bible. But Jesus did speak of a "wide road that leads to destruction" with many people on it. I have to believe that if all those people knew where the road was headed, they would do something to get on a different road. They apparently believe they are on the right road, and I'm guessing it has a lot to do with their intentions.

Jesus also spoke about people who intend to follow him but don't (“No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God”); a man who came to Him with a good question about eternal life but decided the price was too high (when the Lord answered, “Sell all your possessions and give to the poor and then come follow me,” the man went away sad.); a person who hears about the kingdom and starts to respond with joy but no follow-through (But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.); and a man who makes a promise but fails to keep it (He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.)

So follow-through on our initial good intentions with faithful obedience is obviously important to Jesus, but still, shouldn't our good intentions count for something?

Three thoughts:
1.) What makes our intentions "good"? Are they good based on God's standards, or our own? Are they godly intentions that form as a result of the prayerful and consistent reading of God's word, or are they just a knee-jerk reaction to worldly influences?
2.) How do we go about following through with our good intentions? Are we trying to muster up the strength and persistence within ourselves, as if we are doing God a favor somehow? Or are we responding relationally, asking God for the strength we need as He works in and through us to accomplish the desires of our heart that He himself has given us?
3.) Though we may have some good intentions, we also have bad ones. If you really want God to "know your heart" you must be prepared for God to know all of them, the good, bad, and the ugly. And we can't hide from God the bad or mixed motives behind our intentions that may look good on the outside to the world.

For example, Jesus saw through the religiosity of the Pharisees when He told them "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight."

"God knows your hearts." It's not a choice we can make. He knows more about our intentions than we do. He knows that our godly intentions can be thwarted by our sin, and also knows that our sin often results in bad intentions. Just as our good works can't save us from the consequences of our sin, neither can our "good intentions". That's something only Jesus can do.