Do You Have the Right Image of God?
How do you see God? The apostle Paul says, "Because of our faith in Christ, we can come fearlessly into God's presence, assured of His glad welcome" (Ephesians 3:12). If you have the right image of God, knowing that He gladly welcomes you, that His face lights up when He sees you, that He loves spending time with you, hearing your concerns, and knowing what you're dreaming about, you'll go fearlessly to Him. All through the day, you'll talk with Him as a son or daughter. But not many of us have the audacity to think that God would be happy to see us. So many people see Him as a harsh and condemning judge who holds our mistakes against us and expects us to be perfect. Too often we have the wrong image of God and shrink back in fear and intimidation, feeling that we can never measure up and will always be unworthy.
Your perception of God will have a great impact on whether or not you become all you were created to be. He is not basing His "glad welcome" on your performance, on how perfect you've lived or good works you've done. It's based on your faith in Christ and the fact that you're His child. He made you in His own image, and you are His most valuable possession. He says, "See, I have tattooed your name on the palms of my hands" (Isaiah 49:16). He knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows your thoughts before you think them. There's nothing more important to God than you.
We have all made mistakes, gotten off course, and done things we're not proud of. We let the accuser remind us of how unworthy we are, how we should be ashamed of ourselves, how we don't deserve God's goodness. But do you know how God sees you? Ephesians 1:4 says, "Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes." Scripture says that He loves you unconditionally and sees you without fault. How can this be? Because Christ already paid the price for your sins, your mistakes, and your failures. He sees you without fault, but that won't do you any good if you don't see yourself without fault.
Don't let a wrong image of God keep you from the blessings, the joy, the favor that belongs to you. Why don't you drop the baggage of feeling unworthy and condemned and receive God's glad welcome? He's already forgiven your sins. Come fearlessly into His presence, knowing that strongholds of guilt and condemnation are being broken right now. Step up into His open arms and become all you were created to be.
Your perception of God will have a great impact on whether or not you become all you were created to be. He is not basing His "glad welcome" on your performance, on how perfect you've lived or good works you've done. It's based on your faith in Christ and the fact that you're His child. He made you in His own image, and you are His most valuable possession. He says, "See, I have tattooed your name on the palms of my hands" (Isaiah 49:16). He knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows your thoughts before you think them. There's nothing more important to God than you.
We have all made mistakes, gotten off course, and done things we're not proud of. We let the accuser remind us of how unworthy we are, how we should be ashamed of ourselves, how we don't deserve God's goodness. But do you know how God sees you? Ephesians 1:4 says, "Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes." Scripture says that He loves you unconditionally and sees you without fault. How can this be? Because Christ already paid the price for your sins, your mistakes, and your failures. He sees you without fault, but that won't do you any good if you don't see yourself without fault.
Don't let a wrong image of God keep you from the blessings, the joy, the favor that belongs to you. Why don't you drop the baggage of feeling unworthy and condemned and receive God's glad welcome? He's already forgiven your sins. Come fearlessly into His presence, knowing that strongholds of guilt and condemnation are being broken right now. Step up into His open arms and become all you were created to be.