Did you do this as a child? Inspect a bug under a magnifying glass too see every detail? I did. I wanted to see what the beetle looked like up close. At first I thought it was awesome--until I noticed the sharp pinchers and the pointy looking appendages. Ewww. It wasn't what I expected.     

I opted to look at gentler things: a butterfly, a rock, a blade of grass, a flower. When I looked through the magnifying glass; however, this is what I saw: a large, coiled hook on the butterfly's mouth, divits in the rock, spiny edges on the blade of grass, and a horn-like part on the face of a bee coming out of the flower. 

One afternoon while playing in the yard, I got a splinter in my finger. My mother took out the magnifying glass. Tiny swirling lines--finger prints. "Everyone's are different," she said. So no one else in the world had finger prints like mine. I was so amazed I barely noticed my mother removing the splinter. 

As an adult, I still use a magnifying glass; however, I don't like using it on myself. I see things that I hope no one else sees: age spots on my forearms, large pores at the end of my nose, and tiny lines that accompanying space above and below wrinkles. Ewww. 

If there was anyone whose life was ever magnified, however, it was that of Jesus. His enemies scrutinized Him. They magnified every word or action, then turned it against Him by twisting their interpretation of who He really was: Jesus Christ, Son of God, blameless, without sin. Talk about magnification: He took with Him the sin of man upon the cross.   

Sometimes I wonder what does God see when He looks at me? I start to frown. Then I remind myself He is not using a magnifying glass. He overlooks every splotch and flaw on the outside, and every speck of sin on the inside. As a child of the King, He sees through my flaws. And He sees through yours, too. 

The next time you have an "Ewww" moment, remember how God sees you--as something beautiful!

Life: Magnified...through the Glory of Jesus Christ...