The “Look”

I look to you, heaven-dwelling God, look up to you for help. Psalm 12:1 MSG

My family always took a summer vacation trip from Arizona to northern Minnesota, where my parents’ families lived. We’d load the avocado-green Rambler station wagon and hit the road. We saw Yosemite, the Snake River, Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, the Ozarks, and the Rockies—some of those aren’t even on the way to Minnesota!

Once we arrived, there would be family reunion feasts and picnics, where the grown-ups would sit at the table for hours after the cousins had slithered under the table to play outside with the elderly horse. But not me. Although I tried to dodge her eyes, my mom gave me The Look, which, because she’d trained me ahead of time, meant to clear the table and wash the dishes. The relatives would say with admiration, “What a nice girl, so courteous, such manners, (etc.).” But I wasn’t gracious on the inside: I was unwillingly scraping dishes and scrubbing the stuck-on pans. Thanks a lot, Mom! (I was such a Cinderella.)

Surely your mother or father gave you The Look, and without words, you knew what was required of you, or you’d face the consequences of disobedience.

But now, as grown-ups ourselves, we think of our heavenly Father, who loves us so much He can’t take His eyes off of us. It's not a severe look--it's a look of love. Those are eyes we don’t mind meeting! With that in mind, we are inspired to look back at God in the way the Psalmist describes: I look to you, heaven-dwelling God, look up to you for help. Like servants, alert to their master’s commands, like a maiden attending her lady, we’re watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy. Psalm 12:1-2 MSG

We are looking at God with all our attention, ready to leap into action at His command to show mercy, compassion, and justice (Micah 6:8) to the rest of our human family. With only The Look from Heaven, we go to do His will—with grace in our hearts.