What is "the look"?

This morning, at the high school I work at, I got what I call "the look." It happens at times when I catch the eye of a student. It consists also of a strange, relentless walk in which the destination is known but the journey is hesitant. It's almost a stagger with a zigzagging gait. It's the look of a person who is drawn to something outside of themselves. As a person, I am the destination but what they are drawn to is the love of Christ.

The student makes her way to me in this fashion and we strike up a conversation. Of course, I know full well where the conversation is going. It is where it always goes when I get "the look", namely, the love of Jesus. Always, these students are having home problems that, in some form or other, I have witnessed or been told of. In this particular instance, I had seen the girl crying after being shouted down by her mother over the phone the previous morning.

As she plants her feet on the concrete in front of me, I ask her how she and her mother are doing. "Not too well" she says, "and I'm feeling anxious and depressed." I let her know that I understand where she is coming from, having struggled mightily with depression in the past. I told her that the root of depression was anger turned inward and repressed. It was the result of unresolved issues and false expectations. I said that anxiety and depression were the byproducts of knowing, subconsciously, that I could never meet the expectations of others.

I asked her if she would have any reason to be anxious or depressed if she knew that she was loved unconditionally by God. "Would you be anxious about the expectations of other people if you really understood that you are approved by God already?" I asked. "Do you understand that you are beautiful and perfect in His eyes? Do you believe that He loved you before the world was created and knit you together in your mother's womb?" She nodded her head with approval and a smile and I sent her on her way to class after a few more minutes of conversation.

To all who are struggling with feelings of worthlessness and shame, depression and anxiety (as this young lady was) know that God's expectations for you have already been met perfectly in Christ. You are not made to perform before people but to be approved of by God alone. No matter what you do, there is no possible way that God could ever be disappointed in you as His child. Certainly, He may be disappointed in your actions! Still, the foundation of His love for you is the completed work of Christ on the cross. God even said, "This is my Son in whom I am well-pleased."

Whatever you fail in does not give your Father in heaven cause to love you less and whatever you succeed in does not give Him cause to love you more. His love is not based on your performance, but in His undeserved grace. As Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."