Keeping Us in View

A little boy was always getting into trouble in his Sunday School class. Finally, in exasperation, his teacher said to him, "I want you to know that God is watching you all the time. Even when I can’t keep my eyes on you, God has His eyes on you. He’s watching you. So you’d better straighten up."

The boy was terrified by the thought of God watching him all the time, like some great eye in the sky. After Sunday School, he told his parents, "The teacher said that God is watching me all the time." They could see that the thought terrified their son rather than bringing comfort to his heart. So his parents put it into proper context for him.

They said, "Yes, it’s true that God is always watching you. But there’s a reason for that. The truth is, He loves you so much that He just can’t take His eyes off you."

Many times when we think of God watching us, what comes to mind are the seemingly omnipresent surveillance cameras we have in public places today. I knew someone who worked in a department store, and he showed me how these work. They are hidden in places where we tend to never look, and they can pretty much watch everyone. Most people don’t even realize that in many public places, cameras are basically tracking them wherever they go.

So when we consider the fact that God is watching us, we might think, That’s terrifying. But it all depends. If we are rebelling against the Lord, then the thought of His constant surveillance could be more than a little frightening.

But if our hearts are right with Him, then . . . what an incredible comfort! He never loses track of us, never misplaces our file, never takes His loving attention from us for even one moment. God is watching us, but He loves us so much that He can’t take His eyes off us. We may lose sight of God, but He never loses sight of us.