I like God because he looks at me through Jesus

Danny Fourie

… To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus … Ephesians 1:1

We have the saying that the apple does not fall far from the tree. Sometimes it happens that a boy has his father's features, the same voice, same hands and the same personality. Phil Collins sings in his album Both Sides that we are all “sons of our fathers”. It is in fact true. When you look at your friends, you can see clear outlines of their fathers in them, outwardly as well as characteristics. Father sociable. Son sociable. Father reserved. Son reserved. Father a thinker. Son is a thinker.

Last week we heard that God already loves us even from before we were born, while we were still sinners. Yes, were. Because we are no longer sinners. When we become children of God, when we accept Jesus in faith and believe that He died for our sins, we are in Christ (Ephesians 1:4).

These words, “in Christ”, is perhaps a difficult theological concept, but in reality it is the most beautiful gift of God to us. Jesus did not just die for the forgiveness of our sins, but He rose from the dead. In Him we died and in Him we were buried.

But what does “in him” want to say? “In Christ” our old self, the sinner died. "In Christ" we have risen as new human beings with him. When God looks at us, he in fact looks through Christ. He sees us in Christ.

When you look through a pair of glasses with red lenses, you will see a tree with a red tinge, the green bus in the street becomes red and the cloudless sky also looks red. That is how you see the world through red glasses. This is how God in fact sees us through Jesus.

To God we look like Christ. We are “sons of our Father”, with a capital, and we also look like Him!

Prayer: Thank you Father God that when you look at me, you actually see Christ. Thank you that you look at me through Jesus and that I look like him. Amen