How God Sees Us

By Joe Sullivan, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

When I visited India for the first time this past Spring, it was very easy for me to compare it with other countries I am more familiar with – like the U.S. and some European nations.  I racked up a list of negative things about India pretty quickly.  I caught myself doing this when I saw that air conditioning was uncommon, and believe me, I was looking for it.  I should have known better.

It is easy to do this sort of thing when doing evangelization work.  Sometimes we can get into a negative zone when talking to someone of another faith (or an agnostic, or a liberal, or an atheist) and have a bit of a superior attitude; if not in how we talk to them, perhaps in our thinking.  This is important to look out for.  People, in general, are not attracted to those with a superior attitude, but to those with the virtue of humility.  

I was speaking with an atheist one time while visiting a prison.  He had a very negative view of life but was still very happy and pleasant to talk to.  He was very bright and smart and knew about a wide range of subjects.  I told him I admired him for his cheerfulness and that I wish I could be as happy as he was.  If there was anyone who had a reason to be grumpy, it was him.   

This taught me that God takes every individual as a whole with all their background, upbringing, history, life circumstances, past and present situations and, despite the bad, God sees mostly the good and remains close to them.  Should we not do the same?  I think so, because that is exactly how God sees me as well.  We are all in the same boat.  If we considered all our actions, our life history and circumstances, we discover who we really are before God.  

Our task is to love as God loves; after that ,God will take care of the rest.