God’s Smiling Face
Dan Kunz
Think about your favorite person or people. Imagine that person walking into your kitchen, your TV room, or your study. What’s your reaction? I’m guessing it would be to smile. When I think of any of my five grandchildren, for example, I’m pretty sure I automatically smile. They are each unique. They have certain skills, talents, and abilities. They look quite different from one another. Without a doubt, they have different personalities. The main thing they all have in common is they make me smile.
Did you know that you make God smile when he thinks about you? Take a moment and say your name, out loud. (Hopefully, no one is around!) You just made God smile! We all have different skills, talents, and abilities. We look quite different. We have different personalities, but we all make God smile. Why? Because, just as I love my grandchildren, God loves us. Psalm 18:19 Then he brought me out into a wide-open space. He rescued me because he delighted in me. How amazing is that? The God who created the heavens and the earth, the God who holds worlds in the palm of his hand, the God who stills hurricanes with the wink of his eye, delights in you! Not, he tolerates you. Not, he kind of likes you. He delights in you! He smiles when he hears your name. He wants to spend time with you. Eternity, as a matter of fact!
Why? Certainly not because of anything cute or loveable about us. Quite the opposite. We all have a face “only a mother could love”! God loves us because he created us. He “knit us together in our mother’s womb”. He loved us enough to sacrifice his Son for us. He loved us enough to elevate us above the angels. He loved us enough to guard and protect us in this life, but also enough to build a heavenly home for us to become our “forever home”. It’s way beyond human understanding. It’s way beyond explanation. And yet it’s true. God delights in you!
How does that make you feel? Special? Blessed? Thankful? Probably all of the above and then some. Being loved is one of the most special feelings we, as human beings, can have. It also probably makes us want to love God back. To smile back at him. That’s the reaction which my grandkids have when I smile at them, when I delight in them.
How can we smile back at God? We can glorify him in everything we do. We can live in a way which pleases him. We can smile at those whom God loves. In other words, we can love others as God loves us. When we are kind to our fellow residents of the planet earth, it makes God proud of us. When we help those in need, God is happy to call us his own. When we put others before ourselves, God loves the choices we make. Rather than just wearing a “smiley face”, be a smiley face. You make God smile. He should make you smile, as well!