God's Perspective

Week 25

In order to understand how we can do the will of God, we need to try and see ourselves through the eyes of God. What does he see when he looks at us. From his perspective, what is our purpose? Obviously he is the God of the universe and doesn’t need us for anything. He is self-sufficient and he was before there was anything else. In Genesis 1:1 we see that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now why do you suppose he did that? Was he lonely? Bored? Did he just need something to do? As we read farther in Genesis we see the way that he created the earth. He planned it for us. Everything in the environment was perfectly suited for us. He gave us everything we would ever need to live an abundant life. His focus was on us before he even created us. He had a vision of what we could become and the relationship he would have with us. In Genesis 1:27 the word tells us that God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 

God made us in his image, how amazing is that? None of the animals were made in his image. Plants, birds, fish none of these were made in his image. Only man and woman. What is the difference between us and the animals? It is my belief that God created us to be in relationship with us. He wanted someone to share in the glory that was his. He wanted to communicate with someone and lavish someone with all the good things that he had created. He chose us, he made us like him to be able to appreciate him and his goodness.

But what did we do with all he gave us? We turned it over to Satan and let him come between God and man. Since God is holy and righteous, and since he is a God of honor, he let us have our own way. It is impossible for a righteous God to have a relationship with an unrighteous people. When he destroyed the earth with the flood he wanted to preserve a remnant of all that he had made. He saw in Noah a possibility of righteousness on the earth again and made a covenant with Noah not to destroy the earth with a flood ever again.

But the sin nature was imbedded in mankind forever. There was no hope for us and our relationship with the Almighty God was doomed. But God knew a way to get us back. It would require a sacrifice on his part.

In Genesis 22 we see a glimpse of God’s heart as we read the account of Abraham taking his son Isaac to Moriah to sacrifice him. In verse 8 we hear Abraham tell his son that God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering. And in Exodus 12 we see a similar event when the Hebrew people were set free from bondage in Egypt only after a lamb was slaughtered and the blood applied to their door posts. God was trying to give us a preview of what he would have to do to reconcile us to him.

God gave the Hebrew people a set of guidelines to follow, the Ten Commandments. Not because he knew they could do these things, but to show them that it would be impossible to live righteous lives on their own power. They could only live holy lives if God lived a righteous life for them. He had planned all along to do just that.

At the right moment in time, the perfect time in history, God came to earth as one of us. In the form of a human baby, God became one of us to reconcile us to himself. There was no other way that he could do this. He loved us so much that he would do this for us. The prophets, had advance warning that this would happen and time and time again they tried to put this concept into words. 

In 2 Samuel 14:14 we read these words from the woman from Tekoa.  “Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.” In Isaiah Chapter 7 we read about the birth of the Messiah. Messiah in Hebrew means the anointed one of God. We find out from the prophet that God will be with us. His name shall be called Immanuel, God with us. Each of these prophecies was fulfilled by Christ Jesus.

God looked on us more than 4,000 years ago and knew that he wanted to redeem us. That plan was carried out by Jesus on the cross when he said, “It is finished.” The power of sin over us was broken and once again we could live in a relationship with the Almighty God.

So what keeps us from having a relationship with God? God doesn’t change, his plan for us is finished. He has done his part by becoming the acceptable sacrifice. Now he is waiting to reveal himself to us. He is waiting for us to begin communication. When we accept his gift of salvation, Jesus sends God’s Holy Spirit to live in us. That spirit speaks to us and guides us if we let him. We sometimes mistakenly think that once we are saved life will get easier or better. We look to God to fix the problems that we encounter on this earth. And sometimes he does to show us the love he has for us. 

But he is looking for faithful followers. People who will believe that even if things aren’t great here on earth, and we all know that there are always problems. God is still God, he is still good, he is still our creator and the one who loves us enough to die for us. That never changes no matter what. God wants us to get hold of that truth and never let it go. The apostle Paul understood that and tried time and time again to share that belief with us in the New Testament letters.

God has a plan for each one of us. He can’t use people who have their own agenda, but he wants us to look to him for everything that we need. He is so happy when we speak to him like we would a father. He just wants to be a part of our daily lives. In James 4:8 we read, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.” That was God’s plan when he created the earth for us. He just wants to be near us and fellowship with us.

Heavenly Father,

We know that you love us with an everlasting love. We know that you have made a way for us to fellowship with you by dying for our sins. We know that we should communicate with you all day every day, but we get so caught up in the rat race and daily routines of our lives that we forget you. Please forgive us when we fail to acknowledge you. Put reminders in our paths every day to speak to you about the things that are happening in our lives. Help us to turn off the TV and the radio and spend time alone with you. Show us how to speak to you like a friend. We want that kind of relationship, but we don’t always feel comfortable talking with an unseen person. Become very real to us and answer us when we pray. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our mediator and best friend. Amen.