Always Watching

"The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil." 1 Peter 3:12

In Pixar's cartoon movie, Monsters, Inc., Roz, the keeper of the "scream paperwork" for the largest scare factory of the monster world, tells one-eyed monster, Mike Wazowski, "I'm watching you, Wazowski.  Always watching.  Always."  She says this to remind Wazowski to do what's right—to file his paperwork on time—something he hasn’t always done.  Yet, Wazowski seems to think Roz is out to get him, and he avoids her like the plague.

There are a lot of people who look at God like that.  The idea that God is watching them is scary.  They think He is out to get them--to pound the sledgehammer on them any and every time they make a mistake.  

But, that's not what our Jesus is like.  He is slow to anger and rich in steadfast love and truth (Exodus 34:4-6).

Consider what Romans 9:22-24 has to say, "Does not God have a perfect right to show his fury and power against those who are fit only for destruction, those he has been patient with for all this time? And he has a right to take others such as ourselves, who have been made for pouring the riches of his glory into, whether we are Jews or Gentiles, and to be kind to us so that everyone can see how very great his glory is."

And, Ephesians 2:3-5 says this, "All of us used to be just as they are, our lives expressing the evil within us, doing every wicked thing that our passions or our evil thoughts might lead us into. We started out bad, being born with evil natures, and were under God’s anger just like everyone else.  But God is so rich in mercy; he loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, he gave us back our lives again when he raised Christ from the dead—only by his undeserved favor have we ever been saved—".

At the end of the movie, we are able to see that Roz was watching, but not because she was out to get Wazowski.  It was just the opposite.  She came to rescue him from those who were doing wrong, the real bad guys who were out to get him.

Our Jesus is like that.  He doesn't want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9), but wants everyone to come to Him in repentance.  It's not enough to live a good moral life.  Since we're all sinners, we all need a Savior.  That Savior is Jesus and there is no Savior but Him.

Psalm 121:3-4 tells us, "He will never let me stumble, slip, or fall. For he is always watching, never sleeping."

I'm glad God is watching me.  Always watching.  Always.

Goodnight, Runners.