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The Eyes of Mercy



“I do not know that the prodigal saw his father, but his father saw him. The eyes of mercy are quicker than the eyes of repentance. Even the eyes of our faith is dim compared with the eye of God’s love. He sees a sinner long before a sinner sees Him.”
C.H. Spurgeon (Sermon based upon the Prodigal Son)
When you do something like waste your parent's entire life savings and end up eating slop for dinner, you wonder if you're beyond forgiveness.

What did you do that turned your stomach into a ball of knots? What sin keeps your head down and your eyes focused on the ground? Or maybe it's the kind of sin you've confessed and repented of a hundred times and you wonder, isn't God getting tired of me? When does His patience run out? How many times will He forgive me for this repetitive pattern of sin?

We feel unworthy of forgiveness and so we stay put, eyes down. But when we imagine just a glimmer of God's care, and turn our faces towards home, something amazing happens.

We think God is far off, busy taking care of the world, unaware of our inner dilemas, but we make the first steps toward Him, hoping He will at least have the tiniest amount of mercy upon us. But, His eyes are trained on the horizon and He sees that small movement we've made; He notices us inching towards Him though we are far, far away from His embrace.

If only we had eyes to see His face at that moment. Our own eyes are still seeking out only the next step in front of us, on the dirty path, but He is gazing with love and tenderness upon our brokeness.

Yes, He is watching us from above, but not to catch us in the next little sin. He's watching for that moment when we turn ever so slightly towards Him. He's waiting for us to see His eyes of mercy.




Comments

Denise said…
Very beautiful my friend.
Good morning! I'm out the door but will finish my post later today. Just wanted to get started! Thanks for the wonderful words of inspiration for our week. Nina
Great post. I think we had similar thoughts about this quote. Isn't God's mercy amazing?!
Mine's posted at my other blog, Rambling Rose.
Laurie Ann said…
What a beautiful and tender post, Heather. I love the quote you chose for today. It has blessed me more than you can ever imagine. As for that sin, I won't confess it here, but the Father's mercy is GREAT indeed!
Miriam Pauline said…
Great post on a great quote. Bless you for hosting this week.
Karen said…
He notices us inching our way towards Him. Praise the Lord He's looking. We need to look up more often ourselves. Thanks for hosting. Have a great day.
lori said…
Heather...
This quote really hit me...more today than when I read it the other day....You know God puts in front of us what we need to hear...

I LOVED your words...I always do!! He is not far off...Our eyes see the next step...He sees so much more than that dirty path....He sees us with love and tenderness....
Beautiful!!

You are one gifted gal!!
Thanks for hosting!
peace,
lori
On Sunday one of the words from a a whorship song was "He stole my heart". It kind of takes all that we fear in coming to Him, and realizing that not only did he steal our hearts, he created them and holds them dear. Nice post.
sharon brobst said…
As always your words touched the heart!

So thankful for God's amazing grace and the mercy He pours out daily!
Paula said…
Thank you for a wonderful post. God has spoken through your words today. Thank you again, Paula :-)
Amanda said…
I have experienced this first hand this past week!! Great wisdom in this quote.
Lelia Chealey said…
Heather, I loved what you wrote here: If only we had eyes to see His face at that moment.

What a precious visual you gave!!!
Heather - thanks for visiting my blog. I love making new friends through IOW! See you next week ;o)

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