The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Sam. 16:7
Jesus, no matter if we have 20/20 vision, or even Lasik-perfected cataract-free night vision; if we only observe the “outward appearance” of people, places, and pain, we’re not seeing as you intend. You’re good at healing the blind; please open the eyes of our hearts, Lord.
Help us see people with Gospel-eyes—all people. Our cataracts lead to caricatures. We might pride ourselves as being “quick reads,” but actually we might just be quick to judge, stereotype, and worse. Our spiritual-astigmatism skews the image of God in everyone, and we end up missing their beauty, wonder, and dignity. Forgive us, Lord.
Help us see creation with Gospel-eyes. Jesus don’t let us miss God’s glory revealed in oceans and mountains, sunrises and sunsets, flora and fauna, rainbow trout and our beloved pets. Show us your hand and heart everywhere, Jesus. Free us to live as worshipful stewards of creation, and less as selfish consumers and presumptive ingrates.
Jesus, help us see pain and suffering with Gospel-eyes. Some things can only be seen well though the lens of tears. When we only see the hard things through the lens of our selfishness, our prayers focus more on getting out of discomfort, blaming those responsible for our “misery,” and we usually ignore our calling to become like you.
Worse, we live callous to the pain of others. “Worse-er” still, we lose our awe of your sufferings for us. Jesus, open the eyes of our hearts to see more of you; for the better we see you, the more we will see everything else as you intend. When we adore you, Jesus, we truly see, live, and love. So Very Amen!