“The Lord doesn’t look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1Sam.16:7)
Lord Jesus, no matter if we have cataract-free 20/15 vision, if we only look at the surface of things, the conclusions we draw and judgments we make will be woefully inadequate—starting with you.
Above all, help us see you as you truly are. In our unglorified state, we probably see about .07% of your truth, goodness, and beauty. Show us more—reveal as much as we can absorb of yourself before heaven. Jesus, to see more of your glory and grace will help us see everything else as you intend.
Help us see other people with Gospel-eyes. Our heart-astigmatism leads to superficial conclusions and unfair caricatures,. Replace our quick reads with long compassion. Everyone has a dignity worth honoring. Everyone has a story we’ve yet to hear.
Help us see wounds and pain with Gospel-eyes. Jesus, some things can only be seen accurately through the lens of your suffering and compassion. Keep us from minimizing other’s hurt or weaponize our own.
Help us see creation with Gospel-eyes. We don’t want to miss your glory and voice in the giggles of “wee ones” and the hand-painted spots on trout … the setting sun and changing seasons … the majesty of mountains and the allure of a shoreline. Worship-tune our senses.
Jesus, help us see our remaining days with Gospel-eyes. May the calendar of sovereign grace shape what we do with our time, energy, and every treasure you’ve entrusted to us. May “faith expressing itself in love” (Gal.5:6) supplant fear expressing itself in worry, resentment expressing itself in blaming, and comparing expressing itself in discontent. So Very Amen.
