If this heart-focus is as important as it seems to be, then a person’s view of how God views them is very important too. (In other words, how does God view each person, especially in failure?)
Many people feel that if they fail, God is angry with them. He seriously considers revoking their salvation and sending them to hell. An individual’s response, if they believe that God feels that way, is: self-condemnation, and often, depressed, small, ineffectual and powerless. The main tendency seems to be hiding from God.
If a heart-focus toward God is (at least, one of) the main methods of receiving grace from God, and therefore, (at least, one of) the main means of promoting growth and transformation, hiding from God is the worst thing a person can do. And God wants our growth. Growth of his children brings him glory. Growth of his children advances his purposes. Growth of his children brings him joy. So, the last thing God wants for his children is to be overwhelmed with shame and hide from him. God wishes to promote a heart-focus toward him.
Jesus died to justify sinners. And when we choose as our first allegiance, he sends his spirit to our hearts to begin the process of restoration and activate the process of relationship. God’s purpose is to reclaim his lost children, restore his kingdom, and demonstrate his glory. One person at a time, he persuades people to come to him. One person at a time, he brings his purposes into reality. (Of course, being infinite, “one person at a time” really has no meaning for him.) To motivate one child to hide from him disrupts his purposes. To motivate his children to seek his face, even when they fail, pushes his purposes to completion.
What does God do to motivate his children to focus their heart toward him, especially at a time when their minds, hearts and spirits scream for them to flee? He affirms his love for them.
It is always his love that draws us to him. It is his love that keeps us there. It is his love that persuades us to follow him, to undergo the process of transformation and to partner with him in fulfilling his purposes.
A major hindrance to God’s kingdom and purposes is our limited and incomplete understanding of God’s heart … and specifically of his love and grace.
NOTE: God is never hindered. But he desires to work out his purposes through his family. That desire will not bear full fruit, as long as we are in the dark about how big his love is.
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