Through His Eyes

     How many times do we make judgments about people without consulting God? Recently, I learned I was guilty of this. I was uncertain about a woman I worked with in ministry. She didn’t look quite right and seemed a little slow; however, I had an opportunity to listen to her story one day and realized she had been involved in a tragic accident that made her that way.  I felt so ashamed that I judged her by her physical appearance and repented immediately! 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us: The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Have you asked God to help you see people from his point of view, rather than through your own human eyes? Maybe the person has an irritating laugh or unruly hair. Maybe they have tattoos up one arm and down the other. Ask God to help you see them through His looking glass, not your own, and they could end up being your best friend!

     The other day I was told I talk too much about myself. I will admit I get excited about the work God has called me to and I boast a lot about what I do for the Lord.  Didn’t Paul say that was okay in 1 Corinthians 1:31 when he said, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” While I am taking the criticism seriously and praying for discernment about when to speak and when to be silent, I also asked, did those who judged consult God to see me through His eyes?  If so, did they realize how much love I had for them as well as other children of God?  Did they take into account my actions and the sacrificing of my earthly desires for a lifetime of ministering to others?  Did they understand I look at them through God’s eyes and not my own? If we don’t see others through God’s holy eyes, we will always find a shortcoming and can use it is as a reason to distance ourselves or talk behind their back. We all have idiocyncracies that can be irritating to others at times. Sally may fly off the handle a little too much.  Susie may cry at the drop of the hat. Sherry might be too particular about what she eats. It’s a choice to love as God loves or try to love in a fallen humanly way. The latter hasn’t worked for me. What about you?