Lift Your Eyes

Recently, after my five-year-old niece had been told not to swing from the branches of a very small tree, we heard a loud crack as she and the branch fell.

My niece timidly walked to her dad, hanging her head as she pointed to the broken branch. My brother bent down, spoke something to her and they hugged. In no time, she was again laughing and playing.

As God’s child, I can easily picture hanging my head low when I know I’ve broken one of his commands.

But that day, I saw the situation from a different angle. My niece disobeyed, was powerless to remedy her situation and was too ashamed to look her father in the eye.

But he reached down to meet her where she was. Stretching out his hand, he lifted her eyes to meet his where she could see his desire to forgive and restore their relationship.

It’s the same for us. Covered in sin and shame, we are powerless to reach a holy God.

Our heavenly Father must reach down to us. So God sent Jesus Christ, who stretched out his hands on the cross, beckoning us to lift our eyes and remember that God desires to forgive and restore us.

Prayer: Holy God, when we sin, lift our eyes to the cross so that we can embrace your forgiveness and the power to live as your beloved children. Amen