Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

I talked about reputation yesterday. How many people actually have an opinion about me? My circle of influence is pretty small. I don’t make that much of an impression on the world. Why should anyone think about me?

Then it struck me, God thinks about me. Unlike our human perspective, He does not hold an opinion, He is Truth and truth is not an opinion. That is hard to grasp from the human perspective. The God of the universe, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, thinks about me.

I wonder sometimes exactly how much of what God thinks about me is played out in my life. In Jeremiah He declares thoughts of peace and not evil. It is His thoughts that generate a specific will which is carried out, because God’s will be done. Not from a perspective of obedience of faith but simply because God thinks about me.

When I was in rebellion, I didn’t care what anyone thought about me. When I came to Christ I cared what my God thought about me. It was as if His opinion was the only one that mattered. Coming to the realization that God does not have an opinion was an eye opener.

He knows my every thought, even before I think them. His thoughts towards me are instrumental in relationship with Him as it affects my opinion of myself. That is the primary concern He has, that I should have a healthy, productive, and secure conscience.

Being holy secures a clean conscience.

1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Philippians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Repute is defined as the opinion generally held of someone or something; the state of being generally regarded in a particular way. Ref. Bing Dictionary

Just exactly how long do you think this state of non-reputation lasted? We cannot control what others think. Looking at the life of Christ, from a human perspective, His reputation preceded Him. All you have to do is look at all the prophecies about the Christ child to understand that. Three Magi came with gifts in recognition of His arrival. Two elderly people who prayed to see the Messiah before they died, recognized Him as a baby. Their opinions were anticipatory in nature and realized in a moment.

From God’s perspective however, He went from being the creator of all things, to a child who had done nothing. Who among us can say such a thing? We begin with nothing and have to build a reputation. He was everything and gave it all away to become a human who had done nothing.

If you stop and think about His reputation today, you will find it has not changed in nearly two thousand years. He is still the most divisive personality in history. He is loved and hated with the same level of passion as He was when He lived out His ministry. His reputation has not changed.

I on the other hand can witness that my reputation has changed only because of Him. Like everyone else I cannot control what other people think of me, but their thoughts and opinions of me have changed greatly, for the better. The reason is simple. Before Christ I didn’t care what anyone thought about me. Rebels do not consider opinions, they only care about the moment.

Coming to Christ changed my focus of caring about reputation. Not my reputation, His. Now I cannot control what people think, I can only control what they hear and see from a human perspective. As a representative of Christ what I say and do reflects on Him, not me.