In our new apartment, we hung pictures of our 10 grandchildren down the length of the hall. Our younger son said jokingly, “You’re going to have to get a longer hall.” He may be right, but no new lives are expected any time soon.
And these aren’t just any pictures. My husband painstakingly photographs each child with careful attention to background, lighting, and setting. He pores over a hundred options before selecting the one that he feels best represents that child’s personality.
People who come to visit us can easily see what we value. It’s our family.
This morning at prayer I asked God to bless all those kids. In my mind’s eye, I could take in all of them with a glance. All of their smiles, what they’re wearing, and their personalities were present to me with a single memory of walking down my hall the other day. Then I received an insight.
God can take in everyone on the earth—every single one of us—with a single glance. How infinite is our God who can see all of us simultaneously! And God is fully aware of our personalities, our depth, our backgrounds, and the light of Jesus shining in each beautiful face.
I can imagine that God has a long hall where he hangs pictures of all humanity. I ponder how God might group us together. Perhaps we are in order by age, like the grandkids on my wall. When people arrive in heaven, maybe they first get to stop at God’s wonderful wall and hear God brag. “Look what I’ve created!” God smiles. “Isn’t it beautiful? And it’s very, very good.”
In this action, God the Father shows a depth of love for humanity that is contagious. Maybe God teaches the newcomers in heaven how to take in at a glance all those people on the photo wall.
Maybe they aren’t pictures but rather movies of the best parts of our lives, and in a split second of considering this wall, we are saturated with goodness. Just like I can take in a collage of pictures all at once, God can see all facets of us and all our motivations throughout all time.
Some of the framed elements on God’s wall are works in progress. The saints view us here on earth and root for our safety and grace.
What goodness do the saints see when they look at my portrait? What do I want them to see?