Last weekend we had a visiting pastor come to our church. His message was on the love of the father for the prodigal son from the Book of Luke. It is such a moving Scripture. I doubt there are many among us who are not impacted by the affection the father displays for the returning wayward son.
At one point this pastor had us pair up with one other person whom we did not know. His challenge to us was to look into the eyes of this person and not divert our gaze, or close our eyes. Basically, no matter how difficult we found it to be we were to maintain this visual contact at all times. Furthermore, while we were looking into the eyes of this individual our thoughts of them were to be those the heavenly Father would have. Then the pastor had us break away from that person and return to our seats.
What he asked us to do next was extraordinary. We were now to take all those things that we knew the Holy Spirit was giving us for this individual whose eyes we had looked into and we were to verbally declare those same things over ourselves. So, if the Father was telling you that the person whose eyes you were looking into was precious to Him, then you were to declare those same words over yourself.
What we soon realized was that it is often easier to receive, believe, and pronounce affirming words for someone we don’t even know than to take those same words and declare them over ourselves.
Think about this for a minute. You and I both know that God’s Word says that we are washed clean by the sacrificial blood of Jesus, that our sins are as far as the east is from the west, and that the Father remembers them no more. So, do you think that is is easier to imagine that someone else is more deserving than you? Do you think that what the Father says He will do for them He can never do for you? You know that the Bible tells us that God is not a respecter of persons and that what He will do for one He will do for two, and so on and so on.
This is the heart of the Father towards His children. The Word of God tells us we belong, we are chosen, we are worthy, and we are loved. When the Father looks into our eyes He sees His precious child, a child He calls as His own. We were once lost to sin, but now we are found and celebrated. Hallelujah!
Luke 15:23 CSB But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.