Celebration: {Day 12} Christ's Eyes

Seeing people through Christ's eyes is impossible apart from grace.  We might be indifferent.  We might be judgmental.

I fell towards the second.  If they awarded Nobel Prizes for judging others, I would have stood a pretty good chance of winning.

I used to have the idea that being godly essentially meant looking like me (although I wouldn't have said it in so many words).  I realize that sounds unbelievably proud - and of course it was.  While I paid lip service to the idea of God making each of us different for a purpose, giving us different gifts and callings, my subconscious image of a mature believer looked suspiciously like, well, me.

When my sister talked about how she wanted to be a veterinarian (a completely normal kid aspiration!), I inwardly shook my head.  I mean, taking care of animals?!  How unspiritual!  How devoid of eternal value!  It would be so much better if she chose to be a missionary...like me.

Then there was my first roommate.  In spite of some surface similarities, it quickly became apparent that we were polar opposites in many ways.  I was a morning bird.  She was a night owl.  I was a planner.  She flew by the seat of her pants.  I was organized and meticulous.  She was (by my standards then) downright sloppy.  I shook my head.  How could she be so immature and undisciplined?!  Rather than seeing it as merely a difference in personalities, I wanted to make it into a spiritual issue, an issue of maturity.  (Granted, laziness or lack of discipline could be factors in some cases, but my point is that I shouldn't have equated "not like me" with "immature".)

Other people had different tastes in music, in clothes, in hobbies?  I regarded their choices with suspicion.  After all, I didn't do those things, and there were probably very spiritual reasons that I didn't!

Instead of seeing people through God's eyes, I saw them through my own - eyes which had such thick cataracts of legalism.

So how has grace changed that?

First and foremost, I realize that all of us - every single one of us - are on equal footing in God's eyes.  There are no tiers at the foot of the cross.  Every single one of us was created and loved by God.  Every single one of us is a sinner with no hope apart from Christ.  And each person who believes in Him has the same Holy Spirit living in them.

It's so easy to see others' shortcomings.  But do I have no faults?  Is my theology perfect?  Do I understand God completely?  Of course not!  And while I may be able to point out someone's weakness in such-and-such an area, they could just as easily point out a weakness in my life (which is likely a blind spot for me).

Beyond that, I'm learning to embrace the fact that God made each of us unique, and it's actually quite beautiful that not everyone is like me!  We need the planner and the spontaneous.  The visionary leader and the behind-the-scenes doer.  The jolly soul and the quiet, pensive one.  The doctor, the artist, the computer tech, the janitor, the homeschool mom.

God is so big that no one person (or personality, or profession) can represent Him entirely.  So He uses each of His children, together painting a far richer picture of His character - all of it beautiful grace.

How has grace changed the way you view and interact with others?