When you see someone walking down the street wearing ragged clothes, their hair in disarray: What does their appearance say to you? In church, you see someone walk in you don’t like, and perhaps, in the past, they have hurt you in some way. What thoughts are triggered by the sight of that person? Walking down the street or shopping in a store, you see someone who is a good friend: How do you react? How does the good friend showing up affect your mood?
We are always forming opinions about people we come across, be they strangers, enemies, or friends. Those opinions are influenced by our own experiences. We see things through our life experiences.
As Christians, we are called on to see people differently. We are called on to see things through the eyes of Jesus. How does Jesus see the same people we see? One thing I’m pretty sure of: Jesus sees them differently.
We base our opinion on outward appearances and our previous history with people. And, the fact is, it’s very difficult to do otherwise. None of us have a super-psychic ability to see beyond what we see physically. It’s extremely difficult for any of us to forget past history and base opinions just on the current moment. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Jesus looks beyond what is obvious about a person. Jesus sees the person who is hurting because of insults, or prejudices. Jesus sees the person who doesn’t have enough to eat, or who was abused as a child, or who is being abused as an adult. Jesus sees the person who is sick, who perhaps has been sick for many years. Jesus sees the person who is alone and afraid.
What Jesus doesn’t see is the sin of the person. That’s because Jesus took the sin on himself on the cross. What Jesus does see is the person for whom he died. To look through the eyes of Jesus is to see people for what God intended them to become and to see people who we can give our lives for. That doesn’t mean that sin is ignored, it means that we are delivered from the power of sin through what Jesus did.
So, the next time you find yourself making negative judgments about someone; ask yourself, “How does Jesus see that person?” The next time you see someone whom you approve of, ask yourself, “How does Jesus see that person?” The next time you see someone and know they are a terrible sinner, ask yourself, “How does Jesus see that person?”
Seeing people through the eyes of Jesus will make it impossible to hate them. Seeing people through the eyes of Jesus will make it impossible to ignore the hurt, the loneliness, or the despair of others no matter who they are.
Ross T Lucas 