Over the last few weeks, we have been uncovering a vision problem with one of our kids. Not with his eyesight but with his eye function. This week I sat in a doctor’s office as they gave the details of what this means. They started with the normal things like what those big words mean and what we would do next. Then they described for me what it is like to live life with this issue…how he sees the world…what his behavior might look like and what it means…how this affects other areas of his life. I was blown away by how this one issue can affect so many others. The way his eyes see the world can impact the way he functions in the world and the way he interacts with it.
Isn’t that true for all of us? We all perceive the world in a way that affects the way we behave in it. So this a question came to mind: Is the degree to which I feel and know I am loved by God = to the amount I am able to love others? In other words, am I able to love greater or with more care than I feel God loves me? I don’t think so. I think my perception of God’s love for me affects the ways I love the people in my path. Our love can get clouded with selfishness, pride, and manipulation. Imagine the joy that would come with loving others as an overflow of the way God loves you. Imagine if you saw yourself how God sees you - seeing yourself how God sees you – deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully known and loving others the same way.
I wrongly assumed my kiddo and I saw the world the same. That affected how I responded to his behavior. The same is true for my friends, my acquaintances, and my God. I have expected everyone to do, say, and act in ways that I would have...all because of this wrong assumption.
This week I am going to practice seeing the world through the eyes of others, step into their position, and get to know them well enough to see their world. Once I’ve seen their world, I’m going to tell them what I love about it….what I love about them. Write it down, (you probably saw this picture above posted everywhere before Valentine’s Day, but why not do it now too!) look them in the face and share, or pray back to God what you see is true of Him that you didn’t see before.