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I am always surprised when ugliness shows up in my heart.

Did I just think that?!

How could that have just flashed through my mind?!

I am shocked and horrified when my frustration makes the thought of running away from my family seem momentarily desirable.

I shouldn’t be surprised. There is something inside of me capable of deserting those I love.

It is inside of you too.

There is something inside of me capable of murder, adultery, theft.

It is inside of you too.

When I am shocked at the kinds of thoughts that can fly through my head, it is a kind of pride. It is a pride that thinks I am better. Better than those who fill our jails.

I am not.

This kind of shock is not a sorrow which leads to change. This is only a sorrow that I was not as good as I and others thought. It is a shock and sorrow that I am as weak as other humans.

True sorrow involves no surprise. It is not surprised at the depths of darkness in my soul. True sorrow is impossible to find on my own. It can only come from God.

Only when God looks at me can I know my own weakness and brokenness.

In the end, it is God looking into the sinner’s face that matters. ~ Henry Drummond (British revivalist and preacher, 1851-1897)

Only when God looks at me as He looked at Peter at the crow of the rooster, can I turn around and be changed.

Only when we come to our Father in response to His waiting look can we be freed and forgiven. ~ Henry Drummond

So stop being surprised and be sorrowful instead. Stay where you are and let God teach you.

Look into the heart of God and be broken.

Only then can we be truly changed.

Art Credits: Let Him Be Crucified by James Tissot; Jesus Scourged, a Bowyer Bible print