Who Are You Really?

I've sat through sermons for years now and after a while, you start to think, "I've heard it all before." Don't get me wrong, it's great to hear a reminder message, or to hear about the things you used to do but have gotten away from. But sometimes it's quite a while before you hear a really new concept. This past Sunday we had a guest speaker, and he gave me something totally new to think about that I want to share with you. Hopefully, it will help you like it has me. Our speaker said, "When God looks at you, do you think he sees a sinner or a saint?" Wow...think about that. I know every bad thought I've had, every failed attempt to do better at something, every day I forgot to take time to read my bible, how much more I should be praying over, the struggles I haven't overcome yet, etc. I had to admit, when I picture God looking at me, I really did picture Him seeing me as a sinner, hoping I'd "get it" and figure out how to stop the stuff I too don't like about myself. The thought of God seeing me as a saint hadn't occurred to me. How could He? He's perfect. He's a jealous God who doesn't tolerate disobedience...which I explain in my head is all the things I should do but don't or haven't done yet. But you know what? The guest speaker was right...God sees us as a saint. Let me explain... Jesus died for our sins. You've probably heard that before. But for those who really do believe in Him, and call Him our Lord and Savior, and believe he died for our sins and raised from the dead - He died for ALL of our sins. Not just the "big ones", not those in the past, but for ALL of them. When God looks at us, He sees us through Christ. And through that lens or filter of pure perfection, He chooses to see us that way. Yes, God knows what we do to mess up, and yes, we should still confess our sins to Him so nothing interferes with our relationship with Him, but He sees us in a way we can't even see ourselves. I think of it this way, imagine one of those 1970s/1980s 3D posters. Remember those? They traced the outline of something with both a red and a blue line slightly apart from each other. To look at the poster, you could make out what the image was, but it wasn't very pleasing to the eye, it wasn't clear, it wasn't attractive. Then you put on those glasses with one red lens and one blue lens and suddenly you saw with amazing clarity this amazing, wonderful 3D image! Those blurry edges were still there, you KNEW they were still there, but through those lenses, you chose to see it in a new way, one that was so much better than it first looked. I imagine God sees us kind of like that. We have our own blurry or rough edges. We don't always do what's right as rigidly. Our boundaries aren't always sharp, crisp edges. But through Jesus, He chooses to use that filter or lens to see our full potential, something more attractive, something He enjoys even more. Now obviously, we're much more important to God than my simple illustration, but the truth is, He loves us, knows all we could accomplish with Him, He sees the good intentions, He knows our heart's desire to please Him even if we fall short. I believe God looks at me, and you, and sees a Saint. I hope you feel that way today too. God bless.