Yesterday I had an ophthalmologist appointment. It was a routine exam, except I noticed a difference. The doctor seemed to be working hard at holding my eyelids up to examine my eyeballs. I was rather self-conscious, so I jokingly asked him if he could prescribe an eye lift since being in my 50s has resulted in evidence of gravity on my body. He chuckled and responded that the good thing about being in your 50s is that your friends can’t see well enough to notice sagging eyelids!
That humorous conversation got me thinking about how I see and what I see. Perspective makes all the difference! When I see a new born baby I am struck by the astounding creativity and knowledge of God. The science of how this baby came to be doesn’t enter my mind except to acknowledge that God has known all along how life would reproduce. When others are having struggles I can confidently assure them of God’s faithfulness. Yet I pondered if I really see the way God sees. I asked God where my “vision” needed to change to see people and circumstances the way He does. I tucked these thoughts to the back of my brain files.
My son picked me up and we were driving to the mall when a song entitled “Give Me Your Eyes” came on the radio. He sang the song with passion and afterward commented that “Give Me Your Eyes” is his favorite song. If you’re not familiar with it go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OihvG607W-c to watch the video and to look at the lyrics go here: www.quizilla.com/lyrics/7619834/give-me-your-eyes-brandon-heath
I asked him what it was about the song that spoke to him. He explained to me that so many people are hurting and we just don’t take the time to “see”. He said that often the only ones we notice are overtly obvious, but only when we want to have time to look. Our lives are full of people who have things they are dealing with that we never take time to “see”. We keep busy with so many tasks that we don’t slow down enough, or care enough to really look at those whom God has placed in our path. A lot of wisdom from a 21 year old.
Being in ministry my inclination was to exclude myself from his insight. But God wasn’t going to let go so easily. He prodded me and asked me to evaluate if I really take time to see people through His eyes. More importantly I felt the question arise within me “do you want to take the time to see people and circumstances the way I (God) see them?”.
This is not a one time conversation I will have with my God. It will not resolve by reading one chapter of scripture or a book by a theologian. This will be a process and a refining as I seek to see the way He wants me to see. This blog is my first action step in that process. So, how do you see the people around you?
That humorous conversation got me thinking about how I see and what I see. Perspective makes all the difference! When I see a new born baby I am struck by the astounding creativity and knowledge of God. The science of how this baby came to be doesn’t enter my mind except to acknowledge that God has known all along how life would reproduce. When others are having struggles I can confidently assure them of God’s faithfulness. Yet I pondered if I really see the way God sees. I asked God where my “vision” needed to change to see people and circumstances the way He does. I tucked these thoughts to the back of my brain files.
My son picked me up and we were driving to the mall when a song entitled “Give Me Your Eyes” came on the radio. He sang the song with passion and afterward commented that “Give Me Your Eyes” is his favorite song. If you’re not familiar with it go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OihvG607W-c to watch the video and to look at the lyrics go here: www.quizilla.com/lyrics/7619834/give-me-your-eyes-brandon-heath
I asked him what it was about the song that spoke to him. He explained to me that so many people are hurting and we just don’t take the time to “see”. He said that often the only ones we notice are overtly obvious, but only when we want to have time to look. Our lives are full of people who have things they are dealing with that we never take time to “see”. We keep busy with so many tasks that we don’t slow down enough, or care enough to really look at those whom God has placed in our path. A lot of wisdom from a 21 year old.
Being in ministry my inclination was to exclude myself from his insight. But God wasn’t going to let go so easily. He prodded me and asked me to evaluate if I really take time to see people through His eyes. More importantly I felt the question arise within me “do you want to take the time to see people and circumstances the way I (God) see them?”.
This is not a one time conversation I will have with my God. It will not resolve by reading one chapter of scripture or a book by a theologian. This will be a process and a refining as I seek to see the way He wants me to see. This blog is my first action step in that process. So, how do you see the people around you?
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