It doesn't matter what you think.

I understand the harshness with which the previous sentence was worded, and I understand equally how that may fly in the face of what you're told on a daily basis. We here in America cherish our own personal opinions and viewpoints, and the right for us to hold to them is one that a great many people have given their lives to protect.


But the truth is the truth: it doesn't matter what you think.

Don't worry, though - you're not alone in this. You can easily substitute 'you' for any other personal pronoun (he, she, they, etc.), and grammatical inaccuracies aside, the point remains the same: it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. What matters is what God thinks.

While there are a great many applications to this principle, perhaps the most important one for our purposes is this one: it doesn't matter what you think about yourself. It doesn't matter what he or she or they think about you. What matters is what God thinks about you.

And to see yourself through God's eyes, you need to see who Jesus really is.

The Apostle John wrote a book nearly two thousand years ago we've called Revelation, and while the majority of commentators since have decided that the best that we can do with it is fruitlessly argue about the end-times, the book remains, perhaps, the best place to see who Jesus really is. Three times Jesus reveals a picture of who He is to John, and three times, John faithfully writes it down for us to see.

The first picture is the Jewish picture of the Ancient of Days, the Creator of the universe, looking like the Son of Man. In other words, Jesus is the perfect marriage of humanity and divinity, and He's standing among the church.

The second picture is of a slain lamb, worthy to reveal God's plans and accepting the worship of angels and those in His kingdom - a kingdom of priests and rulers.

The third picture is a of a conquering warrior king, riding into battle to defend His bride (the church) from all of her enemies. And He does more than defend her; He takes care of her enemies in a grisly, brutal, eternal way.

Those three pictures may not sound like much to the average Christian. Sure, they're cool and all, and yes, they make sweet tattoos if you're into that sort of thing. But for most of us, that's as far as the pictures go. And if that's you (or, if this is the first time you've been exposed to these pictures), it's time to look closer:

The first picture tells you that God loves you so much that He lives in and among you, always.

The second picture tells you that God loves you so much that He was willing to suffer and die so that you could be a part of His royal family, representing Him to the world around you.

The third picture tells you that God loves you so much that you're willing to fight for, even against the biggest, baddest evil in the world.

You are worth God living with. You are worth God living in. You are a priest, holy and perfect. You are royalty, a Prince or a Princess. You are so valuable - even at your worst - that God will fight for you.

It doesn't matter what you or anyone else thinks of you - THAT is the truth about you, because THAT is what God thinks of you. That is the story God is telling about you - no matter who you are - because that's the way God wants it to be.

That leaves you with a choice to make. You can embrace and trust God's story about you - and in doing so, not only gain a relationship with the God who loves you in an unexplainable way, but also eternal life along the way - or, you can hold to the stories you concoct about yourself. You can choose the truth that God tells about you, or the lies that people tell you.

It's up to you. But know this: no matter what you decide, there is only one opinion that really counts.

And it's not yours.