When I was a kid, I had the chance to spend a lot of time with both of my grandfathers. I have written about their influence on me in the past, including in my book, Hope Realized. They were different in many ways, but they had this in common: they both saw more in me than I could see in myself.

Granddad, my father’s dad, who would have recently turned 100, was a Marine, athlete, and physical education teacher. He was highly competitive and encouraged others to maximize their potential. No matter the sport, he would tell me, “Jay Jay, if you keep at it, you could be a pro one day.” This positive reinforcement extended beyond athletics to many areas of my life. While I never reached his athletic projection for me, his constant encouragement certainly helped shape what I believed was possible for me.

Grandpa, my mother’s dad, was a joke-telling, people-loving, God-trusting pastor. While he had competitive genes as well, his “superpower” was helping people see and understand how much God loved them. This extended to me. Over the course of my childhood, Grandpa would write me letters to remind me God loves me and created me on purpose and for a purpose. He reinforced this by the way he treated me and spoke to me, even when my life didn’t reflect his optimistic perspective. The letters he wrote, which I now refer to as “drops of hope”, played an important role in how I saw myself as I grew up.

While neither of my grandfathers were perfect parents (who is?), I can see markers of their encouraging spirits in the way my Dad and Mom parented me and my siblings. They were careful to speak words of life into us and encourage us that we are filled with God-given potential. Similar to my grandfathers, they saw not just who we were in that moment but also who we were ultimately created to be.

Over past few posts (click here to access the posts), I have been exploring the idea of thriving. I have invited you to join me on this journey as we seek to understand what it means to thrive and how we can move in that direction. Along the way, we have examined two lenses that impact our ability to thrive. First, we looked at the lens through which we see God, our creator. Second, we looked at the lens through which God sees us. In both cases, we discovered how important it is to have lenses that provide an accurate and clear picture. If the lenses we are using are misshapen, they provide a misshapen perspective on the God who created us and how He sees us. If this is the case, we need to change the lenses to move toward thriving.

However, with the right lenses, we can move to the next question: How do you begin to see yourself the way God sees you? This is where we left off on the journey.

As I reflect on my grandfathers, as well as my parents, I knew they all loved me and desired the best for me. I also knew they saw me as valuable, and worthy of love and investment just for who I was. Their perspectives on me wasn’t based on what I had done but rather who I had been created to be. As I have gotten older, I have realized how fortunate I was to have incredible grandparents and parents. For many people, that is not the case and it certainly complicates the journey. However, it does not change this truth: you were created by a God who loves you and created you on purpose and for a purpose. Not only that, he sees this truest part of you, even through the brokenness of your life. Like my grandfathers, he is calling your potential out of you, imploring you to see yourself through his lens.

This was Peter’s story. Peter was one of Jesus’ closest disciples and friends. He declared that he would never abandon Jesus. This lasted right up until the moment when Jesus needed Peter most. As Jesus was on trial, facing execution without having earned it, Peter denied he ever knew Jesus. This seemingly stuck with Peter, even after Jesus rose from the dead. It was when Jesus came to Peter, who had gone back to fishing, and reminded him who he truly was that everything changed. You can read their interaction in chapter 21 of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Bible, but to summarize, Jesus invited Peter to see himself through the lens Jesus saw him. To say it another way, Jesus said, “Peter, this is how God sees you.” How did God see Peter? As a leader of this new movement to change the world through Jesus. If you want to know if this played a role in Peter’s life just turn the page to the Book of Acts. Peter went from someone scared to be affiliated with Jesus to someone who was unwilling to stop talking about Jesus, even when his life was on the line.

No matter where you are on your faith journey, Peter’s change is pretty compelling. So how do you begin to see yourself the way God sees you? Like Peter, once you are looking through the right lenses, you start to look at what he says about you. While we may not get to have breakfast on a beach with Jesus like Peter did, we can see the words God uses to describe his creations. Words like I referenced in the last post: fearfully and wonderfully made. We can also begin to ask God to help us see who we are at our best. Looking beyond your brokenness, what statements about yourself give you energy? Begin to journal and write down these thoughts and descriptions of yourself. It won’t feel natural, but it will start to allow you to see yourself the way God sees you. As you find common themes, begin to write a few principles or statements that will remind you of who you truly are when you need it.

Changing the lens through which we see ourselves isn’t easy, but it is worth it. The good news is, like my grandfathers, the God who created us sees our potential. The even better news is that He is the one who gave us our potential in the first place. This means God’s view of you is literally a clear picture of who you were created to be. As we can begin to grasp and hold onto this view of ourselves, we can begin to live lives that reflect our God-given potential. I can’t think of a better description of thriving.

What if we didn’t stop here? What if we took that same lens and turned it on others? What if we saw others the way God sees them? We will pick up there next time.

James Belt

Click here​ for more information on my book Hope Realized and resources to help you bring hope to others!