Let Me See Them Through Your Eyes

 

As a parent we always see the best in our children no matter their downfalls, mistakes and failures in life. We see beyond the mess and see the message. We don't stand on the negative but yet cling to the hope of positive in the circumstances they face. I look for the testimony in the midst of the test, the character-building lesson and the growth of maturity in my girls when they have faced trials in their own lives.

I look for God and watch His loving hand at work.

If I can do that as a parent, why then is it so hard at times for me to see others through the eyes of God? Why is it I have those moments when I forget they too are a child of God and are in need of the same compassion and understanding I give to my girls and others that I love?
It is easy to forget when someone hurts us to our core they too are in need of unconditional love.
We forget those who are hurting often hurt others.

Just as I look at my children with eyes of love in the most trying times, Jesus looks at each of us in the same way. No matter our faults, failures and mistakes in life, He sees us all with eyes full of compassion and a heart that contains more love than we can ever fathom.

But....No matter how hard I tried I could not see them through the eyes Jesus. I did not want to see their wounded hearts and broken souls. I did not want to know why, nor did I care for the reasons they were hurting me or the ones I love. Truth be told, I had hardened my heart and justified my choice as a product of their actions and words.

Matthew 7:5 
Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 

 Hypocritical...the very word that was describing me in a tone so loud I could not ignore it any longer.  

I had picked who I would love unconditionally and who I would not on a grading scale I had created in my own little world. A scale that registered the depth of my own hurt but never even recorded the hurt of those causing my pain. I never once entertained the knowledge of their own struggles in life. I assumed the bitter words spoken, the web of lies spun, and the deliberate actions of pain were ones of a heartless soul that would never have a compassionate bone in their body.

I was wrong.

Their actions were responses that had been birthed from their own trail of brokenness. They couldn't seem compassion through the darkness that had overshadowed any light that once streamed from their own hearts.

 Let me back up just a little. God never intends or requires us to stay in situations that are destructive to our wellbeing. We are to protect our hearts with wisdom. However, it is when we see others with the eyes Jesus, the intended pain of destruction cannot destroy us.

So, my lesson in all of this is a multitude of things.  
He wants me to see past the ugly, see the wounds of their hearts and the brokenness of their souls.
To remove my plank and see their speck...........
To see them through the eyes of love........
With compassion......
With mercy......
And grace......
Just as He sees me.

And when the time comes and the hurt of others lash out at me, my prayer has become....

" Let me see them through your eyes Lord"

Colossians 3:13
Make allowance for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.