Learn To See People As God Sees Them

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” – 1 Corinthians 13:12.

When we become of a follower of Jesus Christ we tend to see things differently. We begin to see ourselves with a little more clarity.  We see our problems, our past, present, and future. We look at other people differently as well. Basically everything gets a little clearer the closer we get to God and the more we see from God’s point of view. In Matthew 6:22 the (Message) Bible says this “Your eyes are windows into your body.  If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light.”

 God is not talking about physical eyes and physical light.  He’s talking about spiritual insight.  He’s talking about seeing in a new way spiritually. The Apostle Paul calls it seeing with the “eyes of your heart.” (Ephesians 1:18 NIV) The remainder of the verse says “in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.”  Seeing through God’s eyes means seeing through impartial eyes. 

Within the church there should be no looking down on people who are different, or who make different choices than us. There should be no “us vs. them” mindset – it’s all of us together, united by the blood of Christ. And even outside the church, it still isn’t “us vs. them.”  We should strive to find common ground where we can.  Though we may be different in lots of ways, we are all sinners.  Apart from the grace of Christ we are no different than anyone else. And so we can strive to love sacrificially, to be compassionate, and sympathetic toward those who need Christ just as much as we need Him. Impartiality promotes unity even amidst differences. 

In humility, we should remember that there wasn’t anything in you or me that made God choose us. There was no special characteristic, no excellent skill or talent, no innate goodness in you or in me that granted us a place in His kingdom. It’s all about Him, His beauty, His perfect character in us that makes us worthy.

Jesus’ whole life was a declaration of His impartiality. He served and healed so many people with diseases.  He healed lepers, lepers who were societal outcasts. He washed the feet of His disciples, even the disciple who would betray Him. He ate and drank with sinners and tax collectors, as well as the religious elite. And, He was crucified, dying a criminal’s death – and not on behalf of people who were spiritually rich. Not on behalf of the innocent, because no such people existed. He died for those who were absolutely destitute. Those who were spiritually dead.

Our God is an impartial God. If He wasn’t, we would have no hope. But He is. And because He is, we have the greatest hope in all the world. Our goal is to see people the same way He does. 

Discussion questions:

1. How good are you at seeing people the way God sees them?
2. What can we do this week to better see people as God sees them?