Wednesday, September 24, 2014

SEEING OURSELVES FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE

                Our perspective in life is affected by our vantage point. When we are on the mountain top, we have a broad, wide ranging perspective. When we are in the valley, surrounded by thick underbrush, our perspective is very limited. There are many things that affect our perspective in life. It is affected by our environment, by our background, and by our life experiences. Because of these different influences, things get solidified in our minds. It becomes hard for us to see things from a different perspective. This is especially true when it comes to seeing things from God’s point of view.

                God made it clear, in Isaiah 55, that His perspective on life and the world are very different from ours. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9

                One of the ways that our thoughts are very different from God’s thoughts is in the way we view ourselves. Most of us have a slightly distorted view of ourselves. Because of our life experiences, we have formed a self-image that conforms to those experiences. We tend to see ourselves in one of two ways. We either have too high a view of ourselves or too low a view of ourselves. For most of us, over time, these views are tempered and reshaped, but they tend to still fall on one side of the equation or the other.

                When I was a boy, for whatever reason, I had a poor self-image. Over the years, God has reshaped and refined my image of who am I, but I still struggle with some of the old insecurities from time to time. Recently I had two people, independent of one another, comment that they see me as a humble person, yet I don’t see myself that way.

                God sees us from a very different perspective than we see ourselves. His view is not distorted. It is an accurate portrayal of who we really are.

                God sees us as frail. No one wants to be seen as weak, so we do our best to project an image of strength. We do this even when we know that we are struggling. God sees behind our false front to the truth of who we are.
                As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. Psalm 103:13-16

                God sees us as fallen. Sin is a bad word today. Few people see themselves as sinners. Instead, the prevailing opinion is that people are basically good, and given the right environment will rise to the occasion. We soften the concept of sin by couching it in terms of making a mistake. No one sins today, they just make bad choices. God sees the truth of our rebellious hearts.
                for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23

                God sees us as forgiven. The more we try to excuse or downplay our sin, the more we are left with a sense of guilt and emptiness. We know there is something wrong, but we do not know how to deal with it. God has offered us the thing we need more than anything else; to be forgiven. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, the power of sin over our lives has been broken. When we put our faith and trust in Him, we experience the exhilarating freedom of truly being forgiven.
                The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:8-12

                God sees us as favored. In one way or another, everyone is striving for acceptance. We long to be valued, to be appreciated, to be loved. God not only understands our need, He graciously meets that need. First, He redirects our lives, so that we begin to experience our true purpose in life. When we put our faith in Christ, our old sinful life is replaced with a new life in harmony with God.
                Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17
                But God takes this one step farther. He claims us as His own. He restores the relationship that has been broken by sin. He embraces us with a love that goes beyond measure.
                How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1a
               
                We have been created in the image of God, but because of sin, that image has been distorted. Satan has twisted our understanding of ourselves so that we spend our lives living a lie. Christ has come to restore the image of God in us. The more that we are willing to accept God’s perspective, the more that image shines through.

    Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18


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