The Look of Love

There's an old Dusty Springfield song, The Look of Love. The gist of it is that this man (presumably) has been waiting for this woman for so long and is celebrating the "look of love" he now sees on her face, the look her "heart cannot disguise." She cannot hide her feelings from him: her look is a dead giveaway. 

Last week, I was listening as another mom expressed concern for one of her children. This child, a believer, had confessed, "Mom, I feel so empty." As a Christian, the child knows he/she is not where they need to be. But this mom has the true look of love. She can see what her child can be; she can visualize the levels to which her child can aspire and the life he/she can have. The vision this mom has for this young adult supersedes anything Dusty Springfield could have etched in vinyl: it is the vision of a loving, faithful parent for her child, seeing all that child was created to be.

As this woman spoke, I began to think about the love our Heavenly Father has for each one of His children. Growing up, I received the message that God was an angry, white-haired old figure, sitting on His throne and waiting for me to screw up. As I grew into that model for myself, I became that "screw-up" and reasoned, "How on earth could He not be done with me by now?" I almost completely believed He'd washed His hands of me at that point. But, by God's grace, deep inside remained the hope that I could still become the person He expected me to be. Now, that's not really the case: I can't "become" holy as He is holy or self-controlled, as it is the Holy Spirit in me who is self-controlled; and God doesn't expect anything of me He is unwilling to transform and equip me to do. However, there is a person He longs for me to submit and abide and love and learn and persevere into being, and He patiently, graciously calls me to her. Like a child growing into the adult his/her parent can envision them being. Mom or Dad isn't going to threaten, punish, or scare that child into being kind and gentle, for instance. Yes, there may be consequences or privileges revoked, there may be hard lessons, but a loving, powerfully prayerful parent is committed to creating an environment in which that child has everything needed to grow. That parent holds fast to that vision, sees that vision each time they look at their child, and does everything in their power to facilitate that vision. Even well into their child's adult years. If we, as finite, self-centered parents, with our own baggage to sort out and our own failures to process --if we can want this so desperately for our children, what does God want for His? What is His vision for each of us? What do His eyes behold for the endgame of our lives? 

Now, the specifics are surely different for each of us, but I believe we only have to look at the world in which He has placed us, the world in which His feelings for us are written all over the sunsets and waterfalls and leas and landscapes. He created this world first, as a perfectly designed environment for us to have a relationship with Him, as the backdrop for this tableau He desires to write with each of our lives. And we know we are empty without Him. We know our efforts are futile unless we follow the wisdom of His Word. So, still He has mercy on each of His children, calling them, drawing them to Himself, encouraging them into the vision He has for us. Trust Me and stay close to Me. I will not fail you. He has a glorious future planned for each of us in His presence. He doesn't hide how He feels about us. It is the look of His love, seeing ourselves as the valued and dearly loved children of the Most High God that will propel us into the vision He has for us. That is the look of His perfect love.