I had Mr. Bunderson for ninth grade civics. He was such a good teacher that I still remember many of his lessons. One day as we were in class, a boy came running in, a desk was tipped over, there was a bit of an altercation and the boy ran back out of the class. Immediately, before anyone could say a word, Mr. Bunderson had us each take a few minutes to write down our “eyewitness” account of what happened and hand them in. As he began to read the accounts, they varied widely. Some who were further away from the “incident” paid more attention to the boy’s entrance into the classroom, some near the desk that was tipped over missed the altercation after it. As the accounts were read, some changed their minds about what had happened. Mr. Bunderson helped us understand that what we see is influenced by our own position, biases and experiences.
We see as we are or where we are. Satan, the father of lies, knows this and wants us to see the Lord as we are but the Lord is not like us. He is so much better. He is not repulsed by our weakness, He sees beyond our immediate circumstances and He never tires in the work of healing you and me, His sheep.
“…It is reasonable to ask, ‘How does Jesus Christ react when faced with our metaphorical diseases-our sins?’ After all, the Savior said that He ‘cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance’; so how can He look at us, imperfect as we are, without recoiling in horror and disgust? The answer is simple and clear. As the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ views disease in His sheep as a condition that needs treatment, care and compassion. This shepherd, our Good Shepherd, finds joy in seeing His diseased sheep progress toward healing.” (Elder Dale G. Renlund, April 2017)
The Savior sees us perfectly. He knows who we are and where we are and wants us all to come, over and over and over again so He can turn us from our weaknesss, turn us from our sin, turn us from incorrect judgements, turn us from our ignorance and make us like Him. We just need to keep coming.