The Look of Love

There have been many times I have been given “the look.”

When I was about eight years old and my Mom would catch me getting into something I shouldn’t be, she would somehow physically remove my hand from the proverbial cookie jar with a stare that could scare Mussolini. When I was about twelve years old I got the same look from a teacher who caught me throwing wet toilet paper bombs at unsuspecting passers-by. When I was about sixteen I would get a similar look from a girl I would ask out on a date. Do you know this kind of look? The one that communicates a rare combination of guilt, anger, punishment, rejection, shame, and a hint of finality that ends any debate before it starts?

As a parent I now recognize that there are other explanations of “the look.” I might give that look to my sons, not because I am communicating guilt or anger, but because I really want them to make a right choice at that moment. As a parent I can see the other side of their decisions. If one of my sons begins to climb on top of the countertop in search of a snack 30 minutes before dinnertime, a simple shake of my head and the raising of my eyebrows may prevent him from having a spectacular fall. As a dad, the look represents love and discipline. It says, “You are my son, and I will do everything I can to help you make the right decision, even if you don’t feel like it.”

Peter got this kind of look, too, from Jesus. At the crucial time of the arrest and trial of Jesus, Peter denies knowing who Jesus is. In Luke 22:61-62, after Peter denies Christ, it says, “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.’ So Peter went out and wept bitterly.”

Peter incorrectly interpreted the look from Christ as saying, “You are no good to me. You had your chance to stand up for me and you didn’t. We are through.” However, I think Christ was intentional about looking right at Peter, and I think He was communicating something entirely different. Look at what Jesus says to Peter just a bit earlier in the story: “But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Luke 22:32)

When Jesus looked at Peter, it wasn’t a look of final judgment but a look that might have said, “Return to Me.” It was the love in the look of Jesus, not a look of disappointment, that Peter could not handle. It is the same when Jesus looks at us when we miss an opportunity to stand for Him publicly. We might think that we have been disqualified from ever being useful again, but Jesus doesn’t look at us that way. He says to us, “When you return, strengthen your brethren.”

This is a different blog post, I know, but I felt like there may be some among us who feel like we missed a chance at serving or that we messed up so miserably we cannot be of any use in the ministry. I want encourage you. Don’t run and hide. Don’t isolate yourself. Offer yourself to the Lord once again. Return to the Lord, and let Him look at you with that love in His eyes that says, “You are mine, and I have done everything you need to be victorious in this life. Receive what I freely give you and rest in the knowledge that you are loved.”

I hope this blog strengthens our brethren.