Grace Gaze

"Beware of seeing yourself through other people's eyes...It is much more real to see yourself through My eyes...untainted by sin...eternally loved. Respond to My loving Presence by worshiping Me in spirit and in truth." John 4:23 (299)
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to be yourself or to experience genuine worship if you're more focused on other people? I've discovered, during a worship service, it is best for me to sit in a place where I am less distracted by my surroundings. So, if I can, I usually sit closer to the front.
That is spiritually true for me too...the more focused I am on the opinions of others and trying to please them...the more distracted and miserable I can become! This world and even some good friends can offer thousands of distractions that lure us away from our main focus...Jesus!
A wise friend, Amelia, shared, "The sentence that caught my attention in today’s devotional was “The major problem with letting others define you is that it borders on idolatry. Your concern to please others dampens your desire to please me, your Creator.” So, “what if” Abraham had been concerned with pleasing his family or “what if” Noah had been concerned with pleasing his neighbors and “what if” Moses… etc."
I suppose that means Abraham would have never left home for the Promised Land, Noah with his desperate family and dispersed "zoo" would have been washed away in the big Flood and Moses would have wandered his way straight into an Egyptian tomb!
Instead, I can live above the passing opinions and flawed musings of others by setting my gaze on Jesus and embracing His "untainted" Truth that really loves, sees the best, believes the best and encourages the best in me!
In the Gaze of Grace...dmc