By Al Early

Have you ever looked in the mirror, and wondered, “How does God see me?”

It is an intriguing thing to think about. I imagine the way we see ourselves will have a big impact on how we think God sees us.

For those who have a positive attitude about themselves, they probably think positive thoughts about the way God sees them. For those who have a poor self-image, they probably wonder if God made a few mistakes making them.

In Isaiah 43:1b we read, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

I am very familiar with the second half of this scripture, and it is God’s way of saying, “I don’t make junk!”

I was intrigued by the first half of the statement that brought together fear and redemption.

I don’t really think of fear and redemption going together. Redemption has to do with being cleansed from my sins.

We should probably be more afraid of the consequences of sin so that we can be less afraid of receiving redemption for those sins.

As I pondered this verse I realized I don’t hate sin enough. Do you? I can go through all the ways I check out when I should be praying, waste time when I can be getting closer to God or serving someone God has placed in my life, or any other number of ways that I don’t live the obedient life God desires.

Perhaps you want to know what the minister’s particular sins are. Sorry, that isn’t going to happen today. Let’s just say I don’t hate those sins enough.

I know that because I am not very afraid of their consequences. Many of them I have become comfortable with, do them over and over, and then ask God to forgive me while trying to have the appropriate measure of remorse.

Now having paused for a moment to consider God’s powerful redemptive work in my life to set me free from sin, I can celebrate all the more that God has “Summoned you by name; you are mine!”

I don’t have to earn this. It makes me want to please God, so I can be more intimate with Him. I want to hear God’s voice more clearly in my life.

I want to be a better minister for my congregation and the community I am called into. I don’t want to be a slave to sin. I want to be yours. Are any of these statements true for you? Why or why not?

When we go to Isaiah 43:4 we read, “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.”

We hear the words that we are precious and honored in God’s sight, and that God loves us. Let us not forget that those are either the most outrageous words written or they are true.

The creator of the universe, who scatters the stars through the heavens like sand on a beach says I am precious to Him. I am one of 7.6 billion people on this planet, which is less than a speck of a blue orb in the Milky Way and God wants to honor me.

The Milky Way is little more than a speck in the vast universe and God loves me. He feels the same way about you too.

I have a friend who lives in Kenya. When he was 23, God showed him all the orphans living on the street in his community. They were always there, but God made sure he saw them.

He started giving them a place to stay in his home. He realized they needed an education, and so his church helped him open a school.

Today that school educates hundreds of students, orphans and children from intact families alike. When those kids needed a high school, they opened a high school.

Now they need scholarship money for college. He has no doubt God will provide for all their needs.

My friend’s faith in God, who loves him and sees him as precious and honored, gave him the confidence to be faithful to God.

There are a lot of questions in this article for you to ponder. I do hope you will take the time to do so with a friend, a Bible study group or your family. It is my hope that you will see yourself the way God sees you.

To find out more about Al Earley or read previous columns, see www.lagrangepres.com.