How Does God See Me?
16 So we have come to know and to believe the
love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in
God, and God abides in him. I John 4:16
“Think of three words that God would
use to describe you?” This was a question I tossed out to a group of my friends
as we sat around shooting the breeze. It’s a simple question, one that I did
not think would take much time to answer or generate much consternation. After
all, these friends are all Christians, men who actively seek the Lord and
desire to walk out the lives in a fashion that honors and reflects God. Though
I’m not around them all the time, I would not consider these men as Sunday Only
Pew Warmers. They are good men, salt of the earth types. Yet, they all
struggled with this question, “How does God see you?”
Most Protestants embrace the concept
of having a “personal relationship” with the Lord…from one degree to another.
If asked, most of us would say that we do enjoy a personal relationship with
the Lord. But when pressed to describe or define that relationship, we,
especially the male we, struggle. Perhaps we hesitate to speak for God, to put
words in His mouth. That’s a valid concern. After all, He is the almighty one
who breathed out the cosmos as we see and understand it. He is holy, just, and
powerful and we might think long before we “speak for Him.” But while these are
true and possible, I believe that there are two more likely reasons; in our
hearts we are locked into some sort of works oriented relationship and we do
not believe that we’ve done enough to please Him, or our own relationship with
our earthly father gets in the way.
Men feel best when we’re in control
of a situation. We do not like the feeling that someone else’s hand is on the
steering wheel. This penchant results in a certain legalism among believers. Oh
we will say, “I’m saved by grace;” but, in our hearts we want to control
things. But this flies in the face of grace.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul
shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of
salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns
herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10
We think of the Old Testament being all
about works, and the works that God called upon the Jews to complete were
legion; however, their sanctification, being set aside as holy, preceded the
works. Isaiah ruminates on this in the passage above. He understands that God
has made him holy and righteous, not his good works. In the New Testament we
see this reflected less poetically in Ephesians:
8 For by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9
not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Galatians 2:8-9
And
though we all know this intellectually, we all struggle to let it live in our
hearts. We want to rely upon our works, and this corrupts our relationship with
God. We no longer see Him as a loving gracious father; instead, we see Him as an
unrelenting taskmaster, the boss with an endless “to do” list. Given that we
fail so often it is no wonder that we struggle to find good words to describe
how God sees us. And then there is the example of our earthly father.
I was blessed with an
extraordinarily good father. He was not perfect. He failed at times. In fact,
when I was in High School if you’d asked me, I would have trotted out a lengthy
list of his failings…some of which might have even been true. As the years
passed and I met men and women who had truly horrible parents, my view changed.
I understood that my father was gracious and patient. When I eventually had my
own children, I learned that he handled discipline very well. Many of my
friends do not enjoy such a good example. Their earthly fathers were mean,
vindictive men, often abusive verbally and physically. Many of my friends had
fathers who abandoned them, leaving a great void in their souls. I would not
label my father as effusive with praise, but he did recognize a job well done. When
I think of God as my father, as scripture instructs, I enjoy a good example to
draw from. I expect that I’m in the minority.
This sad, but salient, fact inhibits
many men from thinking positively about God, who He is, and how He relates to
them. We cast God in the image of our earthly fathers, complete with all their warts
and failures. If our father abandoned us, we assume God will too. If our
fathers were physically or verbally abusive, we assume that God is going to
yell at us or chastise us somehow. If our earthly fathers were distant,
uncommunicative, and not demonstrative about their love, we assume God doesn’t
care either. We’ve got to let scripture reshape our image of God into something
much closer to reality. To do so, let’s turn to one of my personal favorite
passages; the parable of the prodigal son.
We find this passage in Luke
15:11-32. It’s one of the longer parables, rich in powerful imagery. It speaks
across the millennia, teaching us about the tender and deep love of the Father
for His sons. Space and time do not permit me to cover the entire parable, but
I encourage you to take a few minutes and peruse it in its entirety. For this essay
and associated video, I will focus on two portions of it.
20 And he arose and came to his father. But
while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and
ran and embraced him and kissed him. Luke 15:20
The father did not wait until the
son arrived at the gate or front door. Evidently, He was watching and once He
saw His son, He ran, sandals flapping in the dust, to meet him and embrace him.
God is filled with compassion for us and He does not wait for us to get all
cleaned up to embrace us. Think about it for a moment. Here the son is fresh
from the pigsty and the father hugs him close. The father has longed for this
moment and is not going to let something as minor as pigsty-mud and filth rob
him of the joy. That’s our God, our Father! He loves us and longs for close
relational intimacy. So, when I think of
Him, I need to keep this in the forefront of my mind. My God ran to me and
hugged me close when I was filthy and stinking from my sin, and that doesn’t
change. But it doesn’t stop there.
The son, like so many of us penitent
children, plans a speech to give. To his credit, it’s not a bad speech. He owns
his failure, seeking forgiveness, and hopes to return as a lowly servant. How
does our father react?
21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have
sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your
son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly
the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his
feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us
eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive
again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:21-24
He responds to His son’s repentance
by reclothing him in the best robes, putting a ring, which signified honor, prestige,
and authority, on his finger, and throwing a party. God’s forgiveness is full
to overflowing. He rejoices when we turn. He does not hold back. Unlike so many
of us, He does not temper His joy and celebration, wanting to make sure that it
sticks. He’s all in with joy. Here, Jesus is not introducing something new,
He’s simply reiterating God’s ancient penchant for over-the-top celebration
when His children come home.
18 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not
retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19
He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You
will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. Micha 7:18-19
Even in the Old Testament, God’s
forgiveness is full, lavish, and complete. He casts our sins into the depths of
the sea. So, when we think of words that God would use to describe us, they
need to be good words. Words of love and joy. He’s not sitting up somewhere
remembering my transgressions. No, He cast them into the deepest part of the
sea. He did this when He hugged me, ignoring the stench of my own filth, called
for a new robe, ring, and threw a party. Those are the words He uses.
Thought
Questions:
1.
What
was your relationship with your earthly father like?
2.
How
does that relationship influence how you think of God?
3.
If you
have children, especially sons, what kind of relationship do you have with
them, and how would you change it?
4.
When
you picture God, perhaps while you pray, what does He look like?
5.
According
to scripture, what kind of relationship do you think God wants to have with
you?
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