What does God think of me?

"If you want to claim credit, claim it for God. What you say about yourself means nothing in God's work. It's what God says about you that makes the difference." 2 Corinthians 10:17-18 (The Message Translation)

The world around me sees the me I want them to see...God sees the me I AM. He sees when I scream like a banshee at my daughter. He sees when my gluttony leads me to eat ANOTHER piece of cake. He sees my poor financial decisions. He sees when pride takes over my brain. He hears the words I say under my breath when I am frustrated. He hears when my "venting" gets out of hand. He hears when gossip slips out of my lips. So, what DOES God say about me?

Several years ago, I read the book The Purpose Driven Life. Author Rick Warren talks about how we use our "SHAPE." That is, how we use our spritual gifts, our heart, our abilities, our personalities and our experiences. God gave us all those things...well, he didn't give us our experiences, we got those through our own choices. But, the other things didn't come from us, but from God. I want people to think the best of me...that I used my gifts to the best of my ability. But ultimately, it doesn't matter what PEOPLE think of me...only what GOD thinks of me. Rick Warren says, "The point of living your life to the fullest in every aspect is not to increase your reputation; it’s to make your life count for God."

If you Google "What does God think of me?" you will get THOUSANDS of results. If you look in the Bible, you will see around 100 verses that describe what God thinks of his human creation...of ME and YOU. Some of my favorite verses are about what God thinks of me.

"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" -- John 1:12

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." -- Hebrews 13:5

So, as a child of God, I want to live my life in a way that will give HIM glory, and not myself glory. I want to please my Heavenly Father and make him proud of me. Does this mean I will never make mistakes? Absolutely not! But it does give me hope to keep going...to get back to good decisions after making bad ones. My Heavenly Father is loving and forgiving (more things you will find out when you go searching his word for what he thinks about you.) and wants the best for me.

My ultimate goal is to hear the following words from God when my time on earth is done:
“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Matthew 25:23

God may not approve or like everything I do, but I know he loves me and wants me to use my SHAPE to the best of my ability. So, that's what I will continue to try to do. When I fail, I will get back up and try again. THAT is what God thinks of me...the Bible tells me so.