you are not da' man

Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise."

He created us, He knows what's in us.  He knows we have sinned, will sin and have even thought/think about sin.  In the Old Testament, the blood of a perfect lamb atoned for these sins.  In the New Testament, the blood of a perfect Savior atoned for our sins if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  

I love the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18 (forgive my retelling).  Both men are in the temple to pray.  The Pharisee is all full of himself, looks around and says, "God I thank you that I am not like the other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector..." He goes on to list why "he da man" (like God is wantin his list of works).  The Tax Collector, on the other hand, despised by man because of his job alone, wouldn't even go close, but stood far away.  He looked up to Heaven (a completely different posture of prayer), beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."  Jesus teaches that the tax collector went home forgiven and justified before God.  His whole attitude was different.  You want to smack one and hug the other (if you're being honest).

It's like that in relationships.  I love everyone I know, but I want to hang with the one I know is all in and all out there.  They don't hide their junk, they don't look down their noses at anyone else, because their junk is just as stinky as everyone else's.  I love their heart on such a deeper level and experience way more intimacy with them than the superficial hang...that is almost painful to me (especially as an introvert) to have to make up surface level conversation.

God wants our heart broken before Him.  He already knows what's in there, but He sure would love to expose it to us so we, in turn, once He has cleansed it, can have our whole heart of affection toward Him.  Psalm 51 is SUCH a beautiful example of a deep, penitent prayer of forgiveness that draws David closer to God.  He makes no excuses, but knows he is missing intimacy with God because of his sin. He came to God with his broken mess of a heart and asks Him to cleanse it and create in him a new heart.  God wants that attitude of I'm broken and the only One who knows how to make it right is You.  There is such a DEEP well of intimacy there that makes you, like David, want to tell everyone of His great mercy.  Won't you meet God there?  He doesn't want a superficial hang, He wants deep intimacy with you, His beloved.