Lent Day 12: His eyes upon us

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth
to strengthen those
whose hearts are fully committed to him. 
2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV

 Many of us go through life masked. We are afraid that people won't like or respect us if "they know who I really am."

 Though we can pretend many things, God knows us inside and out. He sees our every ambition, every fear, every success, and every failure.

 The astonishing thing is that he loves us, even knowing who we are. We are so important to him that he did the unthinkable. He satisfied his perfect Justice by taking our sins upon himself, paying the price (death) to declare us pure and clean. Such wholeness means we can come to him with boldness, confident that he looks on us with approval and joy.

 No one I know would have thought of such a thing. That's why many people find it unthinkable that their debt is taken away. They keep working and trying to please God, though their souls know they can never achieve the absolute Goodness needed to survive God's holy presence.

 "Not good enough. Do more. Not good enough. Do more!" their hearts condemn them. Some walk away from God's provision, rejecting him or inventing god-in-their-image to bear the crushing blow to ego and self.

 I'd rather embrace the mystery of God-with-us and God-for-us. How about you?

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