This morning I was just reflecting on my relationship with our cat Wicket. He is quite the unique cat, and often is a bit stand-offish. He bites me sometimes, and sometimes bites books and cards and things he shouldn't. Regardless of what he did yesterday, or even 15 minutes ago, if he comes over and wants to snuggle on my lap, or lay against my leg, next to me on the couch, I welcome him and am glad that he wants to be by me. I was just thinking how similar this is to the Lord. His desire is always for us, He is always welcoming us, regardless of what we just did, or have done in the past. He loves me, desires me to be near, desires that I interact with Him. There is no penance necessary, no sacrifice required on my part due to my sin, for He paid for all of that previously.
He interacts with me here in time, but He sees me from His eternal, outside of time, position. Thus, when He sees me, He sees me as who I become in Him, who I am right now, and who I have been. A good analogy would be a car restoration. The really good restorers can look at an old worn out car and imagine how the vehicle will look once they are finished. They keep that image constantly in their mind as they work through the restoration process. They know what the car looked like at first, what its present state is, and what it will look like when finished. Because they know what it will look like when finished, they are able to plot out the path to get from its present state to its future state. One could say that they see through their imagination the vehicles future value and form, and it is their guiding vision.
In a very similar way, when the Lord looks at us, He sees us in our present state, and our actual future state, and He guides us. The difference is that His vision of us in not imaginary, it is reality, for He is outside of time and He can see the past, present and future all at once. He really is the beginning and the end, and everything in between. So when we look to the Lord, asking Him to guide us, we are allowing His clear perspective to guide us, rather than stumbling along trying to figure it out on our own. His love for us never changes because He has always seen us with the same perspective. I am so grateful that His perspective and opinion of me is never changing.
Probably the best part of this whole reality is that when God looks at me, He doesn't see my sin! He sees me as I am, clean without any sin to mar me, for Jesus paid for all my sins, and has forgiven me. I guess we could say that God has a really bad short-term memory concerning my sin, and fantastic long term-memory concerning me. He only has good thoughts about me, because He doesn't consider my sin (they have paid for) and He sees me as I am, hidden in His Son Jesus. How could he possibly think anything negative about me in this reality?
The key thing for all of us is to learn to live this way as well! We are invited to view ourselves, though our relationship with Him, the same way. We need to train ourselves to look at ourselves in a present/future state, rather than a past/present state. He invites us to leave all our history in the past, and step into the newness of today, the new mercies that are available today. He invites us to lay down all our memories of our sins, failures, wounds and scars so that we might see ourselves the way He sees us. Not only that, but He wants to speak to us and tell us who we become, so that we might believe and live toward that vision.
I am reminded of two great scriptural examples, first, the story of Gideon in Judges, Chapter 6. The background to the story is that Israel was being severely oppressed by the Midianites. Gideon was trying to thresh some wheat for his family, and doing so while hiding in a wine press. He has an encounter with and Angel and doesn't believe what the Angel says. Here are the two verses that demonstrate what I am saying - Judges 6:12, 15 NIV:
[12] "When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. ”
[15] “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family". The Lord was speaking to Gideon's present/future state, but Gideon was mired in His past/present state. The Lord looked at Gideon from outside of time and rightly calls him a mighty warrior. Gideon, who can only look at his past and present, sees no reason to believe that he could be a mighty warrior. The invitation from the Lord was for Gideon to believe God's perspective rather than his own. Our invitation daily is to do the same.
The second example is the story of the prodigal son found in Luke, chapter 15. In this story the son asks for his inheritance, goes to a distant land and spends it in all sorts of sinful ways, and after becoming poor and starving, He decides to go back to his father's house and beg to just be a servant, because he was clearly no longer qualified to be called his son. Here are a couple of verses that are applicable - Luke 15:17-24 NIV:
[17] “When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! [18] I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. [19] I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.'
[20] So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
[21] “The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
[22] “But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. [23] Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. [24] For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate."
The son was trying to accept his past/present state and move forward in relationship with his father. The father though, would have none of that nonsense. he immediately restored the son to right relationship, as his son, and pronounced this to his whole household. It was as if he never saw this sinful son in any other way than as his son whom he loved. The father did not drag up his past, make him pay restitution, or punish him in any way. The father could only think of him as his son, whom he loved!
In the same way, our Father in heaven looks at each of us, and sees us where we are and sees us as His children. He loves us, and calls us forward in relationship with Himself. He doesn't dig up our past, call us to make restitution or make us pay any penalty. He wants us to believe in His perspective of us, and step into our identity as His sons and daughters and encourages us to live our lives with present/future perspective.
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