I FIND IT AMAZING HOW AS HUMANS, WE SEE PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING OF THE PHASE OF LIFE WE ARE CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH, AND EVEN THEN, ARE WE SEEING THE REAL PERSON, OR SIMPLY SEEING THEM AS WE MAKE THEM OUT TO BE? TRY THIS EXPERIMENT..... LOOK AT SOMEONE CLOSE BY AND LOOK AT THEM REAL GOOD! WHAT DO YOU SEE? WHAT DID YOU NOTICE FIRST ABOUT THEM? THEIR HAIR - THEIR EYES - THEIR WRINKLES - THEIR TEETH - THEIR SMILE; WHAT DID YOU SEE? NOW LOOK AT THEM AGAIN AND REALLY MAKE A MENTAL NOTE OF WHAT YOU SAW FIRST AND THEN WHAT YOU NOTICED THE SECOND TIME AROUND. IT'S AMAZING WHAT WE NOTICE AT FIRST GLANCE VS. WHAT WE SEE WHEN WE PURPOSELY SEE THEM AGAIN.
EACH MORNING WE STAND BEFORE OUR MIRROR AND ASSESS HOW WE LOOK BEFORE LEAVING HOME! WHEN WE'RE IN A HURRY, WE QUICKLY GLANCE TO ASSURE THAT OUR APPEARANCE IS OKAY, BUT WHEN WE HAVE THE TIME, WE LOOK CLOSER CHECKING OUT WHAT WE DEEM AS FLAWS, AND WHEN TIME PERMITS, WE GIVE THEM EXTRA ATTENTION WHERE NEEDED. BUT DO WE REALLY SEE OURSELVES THE WAY OTHERS SEE US? WHAT WILL THEY SEE AT FIRST GLANCE; AND IF GIVEN TIME WHAT WILL THEY SEE IN OUR OVERALL APPEARANCE? AND A QUICK QUESTION: ARE WE PEOPLE-PLEASERS OR GOD-PLEASERS? ARE WE ONLY LOOKING AT OUR OUTWARD APPEARANCE TO ASSURE WE LOOK SUITABLE BY MAN'S STANDARDS, OR DO WE DRESS OUR SPIRITUAL MAN AS WELL, SO WE ARE INWARDLY PREPARED AS WELL AS OUTWARD FOR WHATEVER THE DAY MAY HOLD?
I WONDER WHAT WE WOULD SEE IF WE COULD SEE OUR SELF THROUGH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER'S EYES? WOULD WE WORRY SO MUCH ABOUT OUR OUTWARD FLAWS AND HURRY TO FIX UP SOMETHING LACKING; OR WOULD WE SMILE AND APPROVE OF WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN THIS PHASE OF OUR LIFE AS WE WALK IN HIS LIGHT TO THE VERY BEST OF OUR ABILITY?
REMEMBER WHEN YOUR FIRST CHILD WAS BORN AND YOU HELD THEM IN YOUR HANDS? OH THE JOY THAT RADIATED THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE BODY! THE PRIDE AND THRILL OF KNOWING THIS CHILD WAS YOURS AND NO ONE ELSE COULD CREATE ANOTHER BEING JUST LIKE HIM. THIS LITTLE MIRACLE FROM GOD WE HELD IN OUR HANDS BLESSED OUR HEART AS WE NOURISHED HIM THROUGH THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF LIFE; WATCHING HIM ADVANCE FROM ONE LEVEL TO ANOTHER, UNTIL HE MATURED INTO ADULTHOOD; AND WE CONTINUED TO BE BLESSED WATCHING HIM CONTINUE THE CYCLES OF LIFE.
WELL, YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER FEELS THE SAME PRIDE AND JOY IN YOU! HE LOVES YOU AND TAKES PRIDE IN EVERY PHASE OF YOUR LIFE, WATCHING YOU GROW AND ADJUST FROM ONE LEVEL TO ANOTHER. WHEN YOU ACCEPTED JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR, YOU WERE REBORN IN HIS SON JESUS, AND HE SMILED OVER YOU AS YOU BEGAN TAKING IN THE MILK OF HIS WORD AND GROWING IN SPIRIT. THE MORE NOURISHMENT OF HIS WORD YOU TOOK IN, THE MORE YOU BEGAN TO GROW FROM ONE LEVEL TO ANOTHER, INCREASING IN WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE AS YOU WALK IN THE LIGHT OF HIS WORD. HE CONTINUES TO WATCH OVER YOU, CHEERING YOU ON, MAKING INTERCESSIONS FOR YOU AS NEEDED.
LEARNING TO SEE OUR SELF AS GOD SEES US, IS WHEN WE LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND SEE THE REFLECTION GOD SEES. WE BEGIN TO SMILE WITH A NEW SOURCE OF SELF ESTEEM; KNOWING WE ARE GOD'S CHILD AND THAT HE LOVES US JUST AS WE ARE! NOT THROUGH MAN'S EYES, BUT THROUGH OUR FATHER'S EYES.THROUGH HIS SPIRIT WORKING WITHIN US, WE BEGIN TO REFLECT CHRIST JESUS FROM DEEP WITHIN AND WE BEGIN TO SEE OUR SELF AS GOD SEES US: HAPPY AND FREE, HEALTHY AND WHOLE, AN OVERCOMER CELEBRATING THE FULLNESS OF LIFE, BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVORED, THE HEAD AND NOT THE TAIL, WONDERFULLY AND BEAUTIFULLY MADE, THE APPLE OF HIS EYE, DELIGHTING IN HIS PRESENCE; AND WE SMILE AND WE SMILE AGAIN JUST BECAUSE OF WHO HE IS AND WHOSE WE ARE!
REFLECT ON THIS THROUGH YOUR DAY AND SMILE, DEAR FRIEND. GOD LOVES YOU AND SO DO I~~~
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