Recently I visited a used bookstore and came across an out-of-print book, God Reigns: Expository Studies in the Prophecy of Isaiah by James Leo Green. While I was paging through the book I read the first sentence of what I recall as Chapter 3. I cannot claim that it is an exact quote, as I didn’t purchase the book (I have since ordered it). But the sentence went something like this:
It is said that until man sees God in some sense that he does not understand his state.
When we look in a mirror, we see what our eyes convey to our minds. We see a reflection of our physical self biased by the baggage of what we have experienced and what society tells us is “good” or “bad,” “beautiful” or “ugly.” Beyond the physical, we often reflect on our personalities, capabilities, and identity. We again issue judgments based upon what we know of our world.
For the person who does not truly know God, good and bad are flexible or relative concepts. Things like “moral relativism” or “situational ethics” tell us that what is right or wrong changes with the times, culture, and location. For those of us who know the one True God—the Alpha and Omega; Aleph-Mem-Tav the beginning, middle and end; The One Who Was, Is, and Will Be—things are absolute. They are rooted in His Word, His Goodness and what He says is right and what is wrong. We worship the Creator, not the Creation and we accept His Laws and measures of our behavior.
Those who have accepted Jesus as the Christ as Savior, Lord, and Master, can look in that same mirror and see a different creation: The physical characteristics are unchanged, but the being is transformed. For all our flaws and defects, those visible and the invisible, we are LOVED! We are beautiful in God’s eyes.
One of the biggest struggles a human being can face is to see themselves through the eyes of love, forgiveness, and grace. We are flawed and defective. But in God’s eyes, we are flawless and forgiven. We are both the physical and the spiritual. We are works in progress!
Guilt is certain, but grace is greater. Carrying guilt for our sins is a waste of time and energy when we have repented and given our sins to Christ who died for them BEFORE WE WERE BORN!
We are born sinful into a sin-filled world. We do not know how far into sin we are until we meet God and know what love, grace, and forgiveness look like and how much we need Him.
Author: Lea A. Strickland, MBA CMA CFM CBM GMC
Copyright ©2012 Lea A. Strickland
All Rights Reserved
