learning

The Latin American custom when you greet someone is to give them a kiss on the cheek—no matter who they are. The other day, I met this lady named Valeria. Instantly, it was difficult for me to fulfill this cultural obligation. Her face was horribly disfigured because she had been burned as a baby. I quickly gave her a kiss, but every time I looked over to her my stomach turned over like I was going to be sick. I had never seen anyone so maimed before.

For a while I kept struggling with the distraction. But little by little, throughout the course of the afternoon, I found myself forgetting what she looked like and concentrating on what she was saying, how she acted, her tone of voice, and word choice. Then, I was able to look at her face without inner turmoil and notice her beautiful brown eyes and the lovely tone of her skin. By the end of the day, we were talking and laughing and taking pictures of things—without even thought on my end of her disfigurement.

I was wondering today if this is kind of the why God looks at us. We are maimed and made ugly by our own sin. Even after we are saved, we still have that blemish of ugliness inside of us. We aren’t perfected yet. And yet, when the Bible says that when God looks his elect even now on this earth—all he sees is Jesus. And Jesus is continually interceding on our behalf. Our remaining sin certainly matters to God, but he knows that in time all things will be made new according to his plan. If we are in Christ, we are given his eyes—spiritual ones—to see the world and ourselves the way we really are. And even with the scales off and our true ugliness displayed; we can take comfort in the fact that he loved us first, and that God will continue to complete us and mold us into the image of his dear Son.