In the Eyes part 2
"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8). This is one of my favorite Bible verses. And yes, I know, I say that about almost all of them. But there's such an amazing truth here. Because while it is true that when the Lord looked at Noah, He saw someone worthy of His grace... this verse also shows us where grace is found. It's found in the eyes of the Lord. And the only way for Noah to find that grace (in His eyes) was for Him to be looking God right in the face. It's so funny to me that all throughout the Old Testament there was this fear that looking God in the face would lead to death. But everytime it happened, God was like, "No, it's ok." For example, Judges 6:22-23, "And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the LORD, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord GOD! for because I have seen an angel of the LORD face to face. And the LORD said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die." We had this inaccurate picture of God. A picture that Jesus came to fix. Jesus told Philip, "...he that hath seen me hath seen the Father..." (John 14:9). Which makes perfect sense when you link it to John 1:17, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." See, the way we look God in the face--and find that grace in His eyes--is by looking Jesus in the face. And the way we look Jesus in the face... is by looking in the mirror. Because He lives in us. He is our true identity. And when we do this without the Law, without that inaccurate picture of God, well, the Amplified Bible puts it like this, "And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18). When we look in the mirror--or the Word, or Jesus (who IS the Word)--what we see is the glory of God. We find it in HIS eyes, and we realize that it is in OUR eyes. And what we see is what we be. When we look with doves' eyes, we realize that we are doves. When we see the Jesus in ourselves, then we can see it in each other. Spirit to Spirit. Holy to holy. The Jesus in me connecting to the Jesus in you. And then that connection that we are always trying so hard to find... just comes naturally. Because love IS that connection. But if I'm trying to get it, then I miss out on the truth that I already have it. That I already AM it. We have to see ourselves the way God sees us, so that we can see each other that same way. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Noah found grace in the eys of the Lord. Grace is what reveals our beauty. We're all unique. We're all different. And we're all beautiful. The key is not to try to MAKE someone beatiful... but to SEE the beauty that is already there. Not to squash differences, but to celebrate them. Not to conform to the world but to BE transformed by the renewing of our minds! To see the beauty, and BE the beauty!