What God Sees in You

Read Genesis 1-2; Luke 1

Focus verse: God saw all that He had made and it was very good. -Genesis 1:31

When you look in the mirror, all you may see are the wrinkles on your face or the dark circles under your eyes. When you step on the bathroom scale, an electronic voice may say, "Please, one at a time" or "To be continued." When you draw a picture, it may look more like chicken-scratch than it does art. When you compare yourself to others, you may feel insignificant, unworthy, and of little value.

But when God sees you, He sees you as the crowning jewel of His creation. He sees in you His own image. He thinks you're beautiful. He wants to bless you. He sees the inherent value in your life. You matter to Him.

The problem is that many of us don't feel like we're God's crowning jewel of creation. Many of us don't feel significant, loved, or accepted. There are a lot of reasons for this, I suppose, but at least one reason is because of how we understand God. A lot of people see God as some cosmic judge who is critical of the decisions that we make. A lot of us see God as some distant deity whose main reason for existing is to remind us that, no matter how good we are, we aren't good enough.

Our relationship with God is no different than our relationship with others. We prefer to be around and spend time with people who value us, make us feel appreciated and loved. We don't want to be around people who are critical of every decision we make or who remind us of our worthlessness at every opportunity. And if that's our view of God, it's no wonder that our relationship with Him isn't all that meaningful or gratifying. If that's how we understand God, it's no wonder we don't spend more time with Him and it's no wonder why we have such a low view of ourselves.

Today, I invite you to consider another side of God. Today I invite you to imagine God thinking these words in the moments after He created you: "God saw what He had made and it was very good." You're his precious child. You're His creation. You have great value. You matter to Him. And He'd like for the two of you to spend more time together in 2012.