The King With Smiling Eyes

Does your king have a smile in his eyes?  Mine does.

He also deeply experiences the emotion of wrong committed in his kingdom.  My king grieves over injustice and wickedness and does something about it.

Read this carefully:  "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart....  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD."  (Genesis 6:5,6,8, ESV)

The Lord, the Creator King, is not an emotionless, passionless being.  He is not a cosmic justice scale made of some eternally frigid metal.  He has a heart.  When he looks on wickedness or righteousness His heart is moved by it.  The Creator King cares and feels; He grieves and smiles; and He acts with clear purpose to defeat wickedness and to advance His kingdom of righteousness.

I see the extreme contrast of God being "grieved ... to his heart" and the favor that is found in His eyes toward a man like Noah.  When God looked upon Noah, His eyes were smiling.  When He looked upon the sin of the world and and the depravity of sinful man He felt sorrow.

Often, I think we can forget that God is a "He", not an "It"; a Person, not a Force; a King that rules with care and love.  His kingdom is not just an idea but a realm with an eternal ruler.  This ruler leads with passion and His royal code means something to His heart.  The instructions He gives (His laws and decrees) represent His own love for righteousness, justice, and truth, as well as His genuine love for His people.

As I write this morning, it gives me great strength to know that because of Jesus' righteousness credited to me, though my sin has grieved the heart of God, I have been declared righteous.  His favor rests on me and the eyes of my King are smiling at me like they smiled at Noah.  This is true for every Christian, even the ones who don't know it yet.  What an adventure it is to continually discover this King with smiling eyes!