When God looks at you, what do you envision the expression on His face is? Is He smiling upon you as a proud Father, or do you envision God shaking His head in disappointment and disapproval?
For a better part of my adult life, I believed that when God looked upon me, He was usually disappointed. I envisioned God shaking His head as if to say "When is this Davis kid gonna get it?" And because I believed that was God’s posture towards me, I worked as best I could to perform for God in hopes that I’d see His smile - a look of approval and affirmation. But the harder I worked to perform for that smile to hear Him say "I am pleased with you", the greater the discouragement was when it never came.
My kids began swimming on a swim team this past year. They love it, and I love that they love it. I love going to their practices and as best I can tell, they love it when I come. Without fail, my kids are always watching me to see if I’m watching them. When they touch the wall, they’ll turn around to see if I see them. I usually give them a big smile, or a thumbs up or a wave to recognize that not only do I see them, but I’m proud of them. My kids want to know if dad is pleased with what they are doing and I love letting them know that I am pleased with them.
It took years for my heart to believe what I already understood in my head. God is pleased with me. When God looks at me, He smiles. When I see His Fatherly gaze cast towards me, I no longer see His head shaking in disappointment, rather I see the look of an affectionate Father that is pleased to call me His Son.
But here’s the thing – when God sees me, He no longer sees me… He sees Jesus!
If I did not know Jesus… if I did not trust in Jesus, then when God looks at me, He would see my pride, anger, lust, bitterness, selfishness, etc. And when God sees those things, He is heartbroken because all of those things are contrary to who He is. God is Holy, that is to say He is perfect - without blemish or stain. So when He sees things in me that are contrary to who He is… to what He is like, there is a deep sadness (and that is understatement).
But because of Christ, when God sees me He sees His Son. When God looks at me, He sees the perfection of Jesus. In other words, I am covered by Christ. So despite there still being sin in my life, those sins have been covered, forgiven, and removed because of Jesus. Or to use the language of the apostle Paul – “For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)
If you are a Christian - a follower of Jesus - then be encouraged to know that when God sees you, He smiles! He’s not smiling upon you because of all the good you’ve done, nor is He shaking His head in disappointment for the bad you’ve done. Rather, He is smiling upon Christ in you. There is nothing good or bad that you can do to change God’s posture towards you. Jesus did it all so that those who look to Him could experience both now and forever the smile, affirmation, and approval of God. Because of Jesus, rest assured that the Father is shouting to you, His son or daughter, “I am pleased with you!”
