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Have you ever been in a relationship, and soon after you left, you noticed your ex-partner’s flaws? Or does everyone around you (mostly those with good intentions) warn you of your partner’s flaws or red flags, as we would call them, but you can’t see them? Well, we can easily say in such cases that you’re blinded by love. ‘Love is blind’, you would say, as you justify your partner’s mistakes and hurt yourself in the process. Sometimes seeing unlikeable traits in them but choosing to ignore them and even regard them as good qualities.
In our relationship with God, it is clear that His love is blind for a reason. He chooses to see us not as we are but as we can be. To Him, we’re not defined by our mistakes but by His love and our potential in Christ Jesus. He says, in Jeremiah 31:3, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” This love is extended to us despite Him being aware of our flaws. And it’s not just how God sees us. It’s also about how we should see ourselves and others.
God Defines Our Identity
Jeremiah predicts something interesting about Israel and Judah. God promises to return them after their captivity. To establish them and give them peace again. Despite their sinfulness and waywardness that led them into captivity, God comes and says, “In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
This is a name that doesn’t describe the individuals receiving the name but describes the Lord of the people receiving the name. This name was given to them not because of any merit on their end but because of what God was doing on their behalf.
This is the same for you and the same for me. Our identity isn’t based on our actions but on Christ’s righteousness. God views you and me through a lens of love, compassion, and grace, not through our shortcomings. When He looks at us, He doesn’t see our sins—He sees His Son covering us. Believe it. Make it personal.
The Power of God’s Word: Seeing What Is Not Yet There
You’d probably wonder, “How can God see me differently in my current state?” Let’s consider Romans 4:17. God “calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” God’s declarations bring realities into existence. He sees your potential and speaks to it, even before you realize it yourself. Consider Abraham and Sarah; God promised them a child when it seemed impossible, yet His promise was fulfilled.
God does the same with you. He declares you innocent and righteous ahead of the facts. He calls you holy, even when you struggle. He declares you forgiven, even when you feel guilty. His word is not just hopeful—it is creative. You’re not too far gone from His saving grace. The power in His creative Words that brought everything into existence is still at work today and can create in you a clean heart and renew a steadfast Spirit within you (Psalms 51:10–13).
How God Relates to You Changes Everything
Martin Luther described believers as simultaneously righteous and sinful. You still make mistakes, but in Christ, you are counted as righteous. If God gave you exactly what you deserved, you would be crushed under the weight of your guilt. But He doesn’t. Instead, He relates to you according to your potential, not your condition.
God’s grace is a buffer. It holds you together even when you feel like falling apart. His love is the reason you can wake up and keep going. And this is not an excuse to continue living a life of sin. Romans 6:1-4 tells us.”What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
How This Transforms Your Relationships
Romans 6:11 says, “Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” If God sees you through love, how should you see others? Not by their faults, but by their potential in Christ.
Imagine a five-year-old boy named Mwangi. One evening, his dad gives him a simple chore: “After dinner, you’re going to sweep the kitchen floor.”
Mwangi grabs the broom, but it’s almost as big as he is. He does his best, sweeping with enthusiasm, but when he’s done, the floor is still covered in crumbs. He’s left behind pieces of rice, garden peas, and an Irish potato.
Now, his dad has two options.
In the first scenario, his dad looks at the floor and says, “This is terrible. I can’t believe I trusted you with this task.” Then he takes the broom and sweeps the floor perfectly. Mwangi watches, deflated. The next night, when it’s time to sweep again, he has no motivation. Why bother trying if he’ll just be told he failed?
But in the second scenario, his dad smiles and says, “Wow, you’re a great sweeper!” Mwangi straightens up. “Yeah, I am!” He starts to believe it, even if it’s not yet entirely true. The next night, when his dad asks if he wants to sweep the floor again, his response is immediate: “Of course! I’m the best sweeper in the house!”
Encouragement changes everything. Mwangi keeps sweeping, and over time, he actually becomes the great sweeper his dad said he was.
That’s how love works. God doesn’t treat you based on where you are—He treats you based on where He knows you can be. When He calls you righteous, it’s not because you’ve earned it. It’s because His love is shaping you into what He already sees in you.
We ought to look at people the same way. We don’t love them because they are perfect. We love them because God loves them, and they have the potential to be better in Him.
The Church: A Judgment-Free Zone
2 Corinthians 5:16 says, “From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh.” ‘From now on’ means that the moment I realize that Jesus died for everyone, everything changes. That means I no longer see people based on their failures, weaknesses, or natural tendencies. I see them as Christ does.
I know you make mistakes. I’ve seen you struggle, just as I have. But because God looks at me with love, I choose to look at you the same way. His love covers my failures, so I won’t hold yours against you. Instead, I will love you in a way that helps you stand, grow, and move forward. The world runs on judgment. People thrive on tearing others down. But the church is supposed to be different.
When I was a kid, we had this expression that the moment you point one finger out, there are three more pointing straight back at you. I mean, it’s unacceptable within the light of the gospel for the thief in the prison cell to be condemning the embezzler. How could you do such a thing? Well, how could you embezzle public funds that were meant for medicine in the hospitals?
You’re inclined to judge people for what you’re not tempted by. But have you seen yourself? You’re a piece of work. There are things wrong with you, and people know it. Or do you think people are not aware of how truly dysfunctional you are? We’re naturally self-centered. We like to think we’re moving through life just fine and that everyone likes us. But the truth is, not everyone does. We all need mercy. We all need grace just to make it through each day. So if you need it, be willing to give it.
E. G. White writes, “The church of Christ, enfeebled, defective as she may appear, is the one object on earth upon which he bestows, in a special sense, his love and his regard. The church is the theater of his grace, in which he delights in making experiments of mercy on human hearts. The Holy Spirit is his representative, and it works to effect transformations so wonderful that angels look upon them with astonishment and joy. Heaven is full of rejoicing when the members of the human family are seen to be full of compassion for one another, loving one another as Christ has loved them. The church is God’s fortress, his city of refuge, which he holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of her sacred trust is treachery to him who has bought her with the precious blood of his only begotten Son.” (PH 154 18.2)
When humanity shows true compassion, loving each other as Christ loves us, the angels rejoice. They look on and say, “Yes, this is what we long to see!” Love and mercy amaze even the unfallen angels.
Love as a Relational Compensation Mechanism
1 Peter 4:8 says, “Love will cover a multitude of sins.” That doesn’t mean love ignores sin. It means love gives room for people to grow. When someone stumbles, do you criticize or support them? Love says, “I see you struggling, and I’ll walk with you.” Gossip and judgment push people away.
Love draws them in. Instead of whispering about someone’s mistakes, invite them to lunch. Instead of keeping your distance, ask how they’re doing. Love isn’t passive—it acts.
You don’t have to agree with everything someone does. But you can choose to treat them as God treats you—with love that is blind to faults and focused on potential.
God loves you beyond what you deserve. Love others the same way. His love is blind for a reason.
