FOIA What?

READ: MATTHEW 12:36; ROMANS 14:10-14; COLOSSIANS 1:21-23

In the State of Michigan’s law, there is something called an FOIA request. FOIA stands for Freedom of Information Act and is pronounced “foy-ahh.” People submit an FOIA request to government entities for public records. These request forms can be submitted for many things—documents, videos, emails, letters, etc. If the recipient has those records, they must surrender them—unless there are circumstances that legally prohibit that information from being shared.

FOIA requests exist to hold the government accountable to the people. If someone is skeptical of government dealings, this law allows them to investigate. And, again, if the public official has the desired document, they must give it. It sounds like a great idea, right? Of course! Especially if you’re the one submitting the request. But what if you’re the one receiving the request? What if you’re the one who has to give up documents? When you consider your own correspondence with people, how would you feel about everyone finding out what you’ve said?

Chances are, you probably won’t get FOIA-ed, but we will all have to stand before God and give an account for ourselves. The Bible talks about this. Of course, God doesn’t need an FOIA request to know who you are and what you’ve done. As Hebrews 4:13 says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

But the good news is, God also knows that we can’t be perfect. We all do, think, and say things we’re not proud of. Things we’d likely be embarrassed about if anyone else could see them. We all sin—we go our own way, against God and His Word—many times a day.

But when we put our faith in Jesus, He absolves us of all these things. Because God loves us, Jesus lived the perfect life, and He took the penalty our sins deserved. He was willing to die for us so that, when we stand before God, we will be holy and blameless. An FOIA of our hearts on judgement day would reveal nothing but Jesus’s sacrifice and our gratitude. • Natty Maelle

• Sometimes we believe the lie that we can fix our own sin. Have you ever tried to will yourself to be a“better person” and then felt even further from God? When we put our trust in Jesus, He declares we are forever forgiven. And as we continue to rely on Him through faith, His Holy Spirit helps us become more and more like Jesus. For more about this good news, see our "Know Jesus" page.

But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. Colossians 1:22 (NIV)