How Does God See Us?

 

By Robin G. Jordan

What does God see when he looks at us? I believe that God sees what he originally created us to be and do, the creation that he pronounced good.

I believe that God sees what we have become--as the lyrics of “To Christ the Seed” put it, “from birth to growth, from growth to age….” God sees our whole life spread before him. He sees what has shaped us, what has made us what we are to date.

God see us as our best self, his restored image in us no longer marred by sin.

God sees what we should have been, what we are, and what by his grace we can be.

If we were to see ourselves in a mirror as God sees us, we would not see a monster, but a shifting panorama of images.

Although our relationship with God has become impaired by sin, by willfulness and rebellion, God loves us. Indeed, he dearly loves and treasures us. We may have no intrinsic value of our own, but God ascribes great value to us.

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
You have taught children and infants
to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
and all who oppose you.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
Yet you made them only a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You gave them charge of everything you made,
putting all things under their authority—
the flocks and the herds
and all the wild animals,
the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

                               Psalm 8, New Living Translation

If God thought that we are absolutely depraved and beyond all hope of redemption, he would not have troubled himself to become one of us in the person of Jesus and reconcile us to himself through suffering and dying for us on a cross.

When we believe in Jesus, our standing with God changes. God no longer sees our wayward selves but the obedient Jesus. Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to us.

But God does not stop there. God works invisibly in us, giving us the will and power to fulfill his purposes and enabling us to grow more and more like Jesus in our thoughts, desires, words, and actions, in our entire way of life.

Justification might be described as the door through which we step onto the path of sanctification and perfection.

God directs our feet to the door. God is the doorkeeper who opens the door for us. God may also give us a gentle shove so that, should we hesitate, we step through the door.

We should never underestimate God’s goodness toward us.

God sees the seed lying dormant in the earth. He see the sprouting seed pushing up its leaves to the surface of the earth. He sees the young plant growing in the sun and the rain. He sees the mature plant flowering and bearing fruit.

God, we forget, lives outside of time. He lives in eternity. He lives in our past, our present, and our future. They are all one to him.