put aside to be kept

Prepping for the big day and had some interesting feedback from my pastor on one sentence in the draft. I take the position that the mercy of God is shown when He looks at our ugly sinfulness and stays His hand. The feedback I received was that while that statement is mostly true, isn't it also fact that what the Lord sees when He looks at us is Christ's righteousness rather than our own? In fact, I had said as much during my last time before the flock.

And I certainly see that point. Word says our sin is separated as far as east is from west. The word used to describe the blottedness of our sin is fairly clear in its level of complete obscurity. Not sinners, but sinners saved by grace.

On the other hand, mercy cannot exist if He doesn't see the actual need for mercy. How else does He hand out consequences for disobedience if He doesn't see the disobedience? Throughout the Word we see examples of believers sinning and the Lord turning away from them because of their sinfulness.

I think there are many believers who would like to entertain the fantasy that all of their ugliness cannot be seen from above. But that Christ-colored look happens before the throne, when God takes that look at us to determine our eternal outcome. At that point, surely only Christ's righteousness can count for anything.

But on that day-to-day look? I think there are those of us who completely understand how ugly we are before Him, how dark the soul that sins. That is no self-esteem issue -- just reality. But in that perspective, how great is that God who stays His hand, who still dies for that darkness? How patient that Lord who turns His back on us as consequence, yes, but who also looks back over His shoulder, watching for our return out the window, running to us with that robe when He sees our prodigality heading home?