First Question: "When God looks at you, What does He think about you? Interesting...What does God think about me? I wrote down my answer on the sermon outline.
Second Question: "When God looks at His Son, What does He think about Him? Oh, that was a no-brainer...I wrote on my sermon outline: "God thinks of Jesus as His beloved Son."
Next, came these words from the leader: "God, the Father, thinks the same about you as He does about His Son." Amazing! Because of Christ taking our sins upon Himself, we actually have the incredible honor to "become the righteousness of God" (1 Corinthians 5:21).
I'm not sure how you answered the first question, but sadly many people answer in the negative by saying..."I believe when God looks at me He thinks I am very frustrating." Or, "God thinks of me as a disappointment." Really? (Oh sure, there are times when we need to confess sin in our life, but it does not change the way God thinks of us. His love does not waver nor does He have favorite people.) Please don't be tempted to "re-create God" by your own feelings. God is God and He, thankfully, does not change His thoughts or love for us because we feel we are a disappointment to Him (or cause Him frustration - or whatever else you may think).
You and I are God's beloved and it's a truth that has been hammering away at me for some time now. Lately, I've been able to grasp this truth in a fresh way. I not only know from the Word that I'm beloved - I actually feel beloved.
Back to the sermon outline...When the worship leader had us write down our answer to that first question - of how we think God thinks of us - I found out that I wrote the right answer. I was so pumped! That would not have been my answer a few years ago when I was living in shame. I thank the Lord for His grace in my life to see that when He says we are His beloved - He means it.
