WHAT DOES GOD THINK ABOUT ME?
by Pastor Todd Jaussen
You may have never asked yourself this question. Perhaps, what you thought about God seemed to be more important. But if you consider that He is the Ruler and Judge of the Universe (Genesis 18:25; Acts 17:30; Isaiah 45:18-22), and that you must one day stand before Him and give account of your life, isn’t it more important to ask, “What does God think about me?”
“Well,” you say, “He must think well of me because things have gone pretty well in my life.” In one sense you are right. The Bible says that God is kind to all in Luke 6:35. In fact, every meal that you eat, everything that you own, and every breath that you take comes from God. Yes, God is kind to you, but the same verse says that He is kind to evil people. Murderers, robbers, and other wicked people eat and breathe because of God’s kindness. His kindness is supposed to turn them to Him. So there must be more to this question: “What does God think about me?” Consider this while you are thinking about your answer: God is Holy. (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 15:4; I Peter 1:15-16) Holy means that God is morally pure and perfectly good. He loves good and hates evil. Holy means that He delights in good things like love, truthfulness, sexual purity, good motives, clean speech, respect for authority, and godly living (loving God, respecting God, worshiping God, and keeping His commandments). Holy means that He hates such things as lying, stealing, sexual immorality, foul language, pride, and ungodly living (not loving God, not respecting God, not worshiping God, and disobeying His commandments). These are what the Bible calls sin. (I John 3:4; Romans 1:18-32; Galatians 5:19-21)
Now consider this: God is Just. (I Peter 1:17; Romans 2:5-11; Romans 1:32) That means that He not only hates sin, but that He will also punish all sin. He has said, “The soul that sins will die.” (Ezekiel 18:20) God always keeps His word. So everyone who does the things that the Holy God hates will be punished by Him. The punishment is death. In God’s Bible, death means to die physically and then to die eternally in hell. (Matthew 18:8-9; Matthew 25:46; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; Revelation 14:11)
So ask yourself this question, “Do I sin?” If the answer is yes, then God is very angry with you, and if things don’t change, He will put you to physical and eternal death. So you are in great danger. Think about it. God is extremely angry because you do things He hates, and He is going to punish you. It could happen any day. People die every day. What God’s if patience runs out tomorrow in your case?
Now consider some good news: God is Love. (I John 4:8; I John 4:16; Exodus 34:6-7; John 3:16) And the loving, holy God makes you an incredible offer. He offers to forgive you of all your sins…every one of them…and not be angry with you and not send you to hell. You might say, “He can’t do that because that wouldn’t be just, that would be like letting a criminal off on a technicality.” That’s a good point, but that’s not how God works it out. God offers to accept the punishment of someone else for your sins, someone who has never sinned and who willingly died for sinners…His own son Jesus Christ.
That is what the Cross is all about. Jesus died there as a substitute for sinners. (2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:10; Galatians 3:10-14) Now for everyone who trusts Christ as their Savior, God counts it as if Jesus had died in their place. All of the anger that the Holy and Just God has for their sins was poured out on Jesus when He suffered and died on the cross. So Jesus is punished, and the sinner is pardoned. Jesus is condemned, and the sinner is forgiven. Then God looks upon the sinner as a person who has never sinned. God justifies the sinner through Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:19-26; Galatians 2:16; Romans 5:18) So then God’s justice is satisfied, and He is pleased with the person and gives him or her eternal life. They will go to heaven to live with Him forever in joy and perfect happiness. The person is right with God.
Are you right with God? When God thinks of you, does He see you as someone He is intensely angry with or as someone who is cleansed and forgiven of all sin. What does God think about you?
Perhaps at this point you want to ask, “How can I be right with God?” The answer is in two parts. First, Repent. (Acts 2:37-39; Acts 17:30-31; Luke 24:45-48) That means to turn away from everything in your life that you know makes God angry. Don’t do it anymore, get away from it, and don’t plan on doing it again. Whatever your sins are, turn away from them. Second, Believe on Jesus Christ as Savior. (Acts 16:30-34; John 3:14-21; Ephesians 2:8-10) That means more than to just have a high opinion of Him. That means to trust in Him, embrace Him, and put your faith in Him as your only hope of eternal life. He offers salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life to all who come to Him. If you sincerely come to Him, He will not turn you away. When people come to Christ, all of their sins are washed away, and they are righteous in God’s sight. Then you can imagine what God thinks about them! He calls them “My beloved, My children, My holy ones, the apple of My eye.” And He gives them an eternity in paradise with Him.
Ponder this important question…What does God think of you? Can you see that what you experience for all of eternity rests on the answer to this one question? Heaven or hell, joy or torment, acceptance with God or rejection, pardon or condemnation…all hang on God the Judge’s opinion of you. I urge you to take your eternity seriously. Go to Jesus Christ, believe on Him, and you will be saved.