The sight of God

The sight of God

And the Lord turned and looked at Peter (Luke 22:61).

Over the past years social media has exploded: Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, and now Zoom. Images and words can be flashed around the world instantaneously. There are two sides to this phenomenon. The first is the pleasure people get from sharing with others what they want others to see and hear. The second is the terror of people being scammed and victimised by those using the internet with evil intent. And, behind it all, is an industry accumulating a vast and complex store of information about individuals, families, communities and nations. It is an unsettling mixture of the known and the unknown in the hands of people we cannot see.

But what about being in the sight of God? God sees everything. His sight is not confined to the external but includes the thoughts and intents of our hearts and minds. God is both all-seeing and all-knowing. He sees and knows His entire creation, past, present and future – simultaneously. What God sees is far more sobering than the limited view of the information czars of this world.

Two statements embrace Peter’s relationship with the Lord before His resurrection. The first is in John 1:42 where Andrew brought Peter to Jesus and Jesus “looked at him.” The second is in Luke 22:60-61: “Immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.”

In that most profound moment we see what it means to be in the sight of God. We understand the Lord’s complete knowledge of what we are by nature and where that takes us. And at the same moment, we see the depth of His love for us. As the Saviour is enduring the sufferings which led to Calvary, He shows in a look that we are always in His heart.

Many years ago a well-known and godly brother held a high position in the Bank of England. An issue about fraudulent practice arose in his department. The auditors, who had great respect for the brother and his Christian testimony, said to him, “You are above reproach.” He replied, “If God projected my life onto that wall, I would have to leave this room in complete shame.” The brother knew what it was to live in the sight of God.

The Lord loved us when He saw us in our greatest need, before we ever saw our need of Him. The Lord still sees our failures and frailties through the same eyes of love. He always looks upon us with a grace that lifts us to where He wants us to be. I could spend a lot of time and effort selecting and editing the images I want the world to see. But I need to spend far more time consciously living in the light and grace of the sight of God, being transformed into the image of His Son and my Saviour, the Lord Jesus.