The ‘I Just Wish He Knew’ Feeling
Read The Daily:
Therefore, be imitators of God, since you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ, who loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:1-2
I’ve talked to a few dads recently who have kids going through a tough time. They’re smart, they’re talented, but they’re struggling with confidence, with seeing their own worth. And every single one of them said the same thing: “I just wish my kid could see themselves the way I see them.” They’re not wearing ‘dad goggles’; they genuinely see the incredible potential and value in their children.
That’s the heart of what Paul is trying to convey in Ephesians. He wants us to see ourselves not through the lens of our mistakes or our insecurities, but through the eyes of our Heavenly Father. He sees us as His dear children, fully loved, fully forgiven, fully approved. It’s not about trying to earn His love or prove ourselves; it’s about recognizing the incredible value He’s already placed on us.
When we truly grasp how deeply we are loved by God, it changes everything. We don’t have to live entangled in worry or stressed about trying to control things. We can live loved, not because we’ve achieved some perfect standard, but because He sees us as His beloved children. This week, can we try to see ourselves the way He sees us? Can we live from that place of being incredibly loved, and then let that love overflow to others?
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Prayer for the Day
God what are you showing me? What am I going to do about it?
God help me to see one person that I can serve through a kind word, random act of kindness, or simple gift today?
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Read The New Testament In A Year
the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes. “The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities! “I’ve come to start a fire on this earth–how I wish it were blazing right now! I’ve come to change everything, turn everything rightside up–how I long for it to be finished! Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt and confront! From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be– Three against two, and two against three; Father against son, and son against father; Mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; Mother-in-law against bride, and bride against mother-in-law.” Then he turned to the crowd: “When you see clouds coming in from the west, you say, ‘Storm’s coming’–and you’re right. And when the wind comes out of the south, you say, ‘This’ll be a hot one’–and you’re right. Frauds! You know how to tell a change in the weather, so don’t tell me you can’t tell a change in the season, the God-season we’re in right now. “You don’t have to be a genius to understand these things. Just use your common sense, the kind you’d use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you’d probably go to jail and pay every last penny of the fine. That’s the kind of decision I’m asking you to make.” Luke 12:46-59
Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment. The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much–this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband. And now I’m afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ. It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached–different spirit, different message–you put up with him quite nicely. But if you put up with these big-shot “apostles,” why can’t you put up with simple me? I’m as good as they are. It’s true that I don’t have their voice, haven’t mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I’m talking about. We haven’t kept anything back. We let you in on everything. I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God’s Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn’t be inconvenienced by me? It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride. Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the Christians from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it. With Christ as my witness, it’s a point of honor with me, and I’m not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think. It’s not that I don’t love you; God knows I do. I’m just trying to keep things open and honest between us. And I’m not changing my position on this. I’d die before taking your money. I’m giving nobody grounds for lumping me in with those money-grubbing “preachers,” vaunting themselves as something special. They’re a sorry bunch–pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers–posing as Christ’s agents but sham to the core. And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light. So it shouldn’t surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they’re not getting by with anything. They’ll pay for it in the end. Let me come back to where I started–and don’t hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you’d rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little. I didn’t learn this kind of talk from Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:1-17