How Does God See Us (What Does God See When He Looks At Us) Quite often we say that

when God sees us, He sees a sinner saved by grace. I don't think that is accurate. It is true but that is not how God sees us. We tend to think that God sees us the way we see ourselves. We focus on the things of our lives that we don't like. We're so hung up on ourselves, our needs, weaknesses, emotions, sins and circumstances that we think this is what God sees when He looks at us. Don't get me wrong He is aware of every details that concerns us. But when it comes to our position before God, were perfect. When he sees each of us, he sees one who has been made perfect through the One who is perfectJesus Christ. But I want to say that God looks beyond all these hang-ups that we portray on ourselves and He sees us as how we WILL be. We talk in terms of our past, our present and our future. But God sees everything. He sees our future as NOW. This is something our minds will have difficulty in understanding because we are bound by time. He sees us as what will be one day, right now. Jn 17:23 ; Eph 2:6 Imagine, you're running a long distance race. You can't see the finish line but God already sees you crossing the finish line. Our life is like a journey. We know our destination but we can't see the end yet. But God already sees it now. Or our life is like a book. We're just on page 40 but but God is seeing the last page now.We look at our future through the wrong end of a telescope and it seems so far away but God is at the other end looking at us. He sees us the way we are right now clearly but at the same time He also sees our future. He knows what the end will be like. He knows exactly how you will turn out even while you go through life on earth. And so He works in our life right now moulding us into the image of His Son. Pastor talked about the trials and testing in James. That is what He is doing so that we can conform to that image that He already sees. Let's look at 3 individuals in the Bible and discover how God saw them. 1. Gideon- mighty man of valor. 2. David- a man after my own heart 3. Peter- rock God looked beyond their weaknesses, sins, deficencies, inadequacies - and saw how they looked like in the future. In the same way, God sees us in heaven with Him. To us, it is a glorious future event. To God, it is now. God is not limited by time. That's why the Bible says, we are righteous, perfect, justified, sanctified, we have the mind of Christ. Do we feel righteous? Are our thoughts perfect? No but God is seeing beyond what we see and feel and think in our present. Finally. The prodigal son. As he was returning to the father, he was so caught up with himself. I have been so selfish, self-centred. I look terrible, pig-slop...I will not be accepted. I will offer to be his servant. I..I..I. But the father saw beyond the ugliness,the smell..and saw a son. He was not repelled or required him to have a bath first before accepting Him. What does this mean? 1. We dont have to hide from God. God knows us. 2. We can trust God to work in our lives to bring forth the real us

3. We are also released to love others. We don't see their weaknesses, sin, offence. God is working in their lives too. When we see oursleves and others the way God sees us our whole perspective on life changes. Because we are IN CHRIST, God accepts us in the same way He does His own Son. Just as He loves the Son and delights in Him, so He loves us and delights in us. We must begin to see ourselves as God sees us - perfectly righteous IN CHRIST. This perfect righteousness is God's gift to us because we are IN CHRIST. You are not the person you used to be. You are a "new creature IN CHRIST." The Bible says, "Therefore if any man be IN CHRIST, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 Just as God looks at His Son and sees Him perfectly righteous, so He looks at us and sees us perfectly righteous because we are in Him.