1 Samuel 16:7 KJV
7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Psalm 139:1-4 Amplified Bible
1 O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];
You understand my thought from afar.
3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken],
Behold, O Lord, You know it all.
Often times we humans get too concerned about how others perceive us and the impression we make.
Do we make a good impression in our business meetings? Did our presentation go well? Do we look the part of our position? Do our colleagues take us seriously enough? Are our clients happy with our work? And on it can go.
Much more important than this, is the question "what does God our Father in heaven see, when He looks at us?"
I heard someone say recently that as Christians, we should strive to see ourselves as God see us.
1 Peter 3:3-4 Amplified Bible
3 Your adornment must not be merely external—with interweaving and elaborate knotting of the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or [being superficially preoccupied with] dressing in expensive clothes; 4 but let it be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, [one that is calm and self-controlled, not overanxious, but serene and spiritually mature] which is very precious in the sight of God.
I thought it was a very interesting and thought-provoking comment, as it certainly made me think.
I began to think about what God sees when he looks at me and realized it is something that all Christians should do from time to time.
If we take the introspection seriously and honestly, we should see if we are living and doing what God expects of us.
He Sees Us as His Child, Fully Redeemed Through Jesus Christ
First of all, if we are serious in our commitment to God, fully surrendered to Him and living according to His will, God sees us as His child.
Psalm 103:13-14 NIV
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
As His child, He looks beyond our outward appearance and blemishes and sees our heart.
He sees and knows our spiritual being and through our total commitment to Him, we honor His name and proclaim Him to the world.
Colossians 3:12 Amplified Bible
12 So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper];
He sees us as fully redeemed, justified and sanctified through Jesus Christ. And because of the blood of Jesus and our acceptance of Him, God see us as righteous in His eyes.
He wants to see us as “set apart” from the world around us.
Romans 12:2 Amplified Bible
2 And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be [a]transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].
In other words, not conforming to the ways of the world, knowing His will and living according to His will.
That is how God sees us, if we are totally surrendered and committed to Him.
This is how God wants to see His children.
However, There Can Be a Flip-Side
On the other hand, if God looks down on us, and we are not living according to His will, He sees something else and is not pleased.
Let’s think for a moment about our own children.
If they are doing all that we ask them to do, are obedient, respectful and kind, we are proud of them, and love what we see.
If they are being rebellious, we are not proud of their actions, and we don’t like what we see. But we still love them and want them to change their behavior. And, they get disciplined in the magnitude they deserve.
It works the very same in our relationship with God. When God looks at us and sees a disobedient child, who is not living in His will, He is not pleased. But he longs for us to come back to Him, just as Jesus taught in the parable of the Prodigal Son. See “The Prodigal Son” under the tab Bible in a Nutshell.
As someone who definitely believes that we can turn away from God of our own free will and fall from grace, it is a tenuous and dangerous position to be in. To walk away from God’s amazing grace through Christ, after having known and accepted Him as Lord, is in effect to mock and spit upon the sacrifice that Jesus made for all and basically says there is nothing to it.
I certainly do not want God to look at me and see this.
But, if this is what He sees, a rebellious child, God will discipline us in some way to get our attention, and through this discipline, strive to bring us back into communion with Him.
As His child, we can expect chastisement and discipline from God. Just as loving parents use discipline to change their children’s behavior, so does our loving Father in heaven.
I Want God to See Me as Totally Surrendered to Him
Finally, what God wants to see and what we should want Him to see in us, is a child that is displaying the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Galatians 5:22-23 Amplified Bible
22 But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.
We want God to see us displaying the fruit of the Holy Spirit daily, as evidence that God dwells within us.
We want God to see us living daily, the teachings of Jesus, forgiving those who have harmed us and treating all people as we desire to be treated.
We also want God to see that those who come in contact with us see these attributes. In other words, they see the teachings of Jesus in our daily lives.
This is what God our Father wants to see in us and what we want Him to see.
Our prayer and desire is as follows.
Father in Heaven, when you look at me, I want you to see your obedient and loving child who is growing closer to you each day. Unworthy, but made worthy in your eyes through the blood of Jesus Christ. A child who is sanctified and holy, who displays love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And Father, I want you to see in me, a person that lives their life on this earth in such a manner that those who I come in contact with see the teachings of my Lord Jesus in all of my words and actions. This is what I want you to see, Heavenly Father. Amen.
RVH