Through His Eyes

I had intentions of writing a post about this subject a few weeks ago, but didn't get around to it. It has been rolling around in my head and I was reminded of it all too profoundly this weekend.

At school each morning we have our daily announcements which include the pledges (American and Oklahoma flags), moment of silence, birthdays, lunch menu, etc. One particular day, during the moment of silence a thought flitted through my mind and I found myself thinking/praying "Lord, help me to see them as You do."

That is such a nice sentiment. After all, that is what we are supposed to do isn't it? Love people as Christ loves us?

I have a confession to make, though. In that brief moment I found myself responding to that plea with, "No! I don't want to do that."

Gasp! Oh my! Why in the world would I think that?? How horrible!

Honestly, those thoughts really caught me off-guard and it caused me to question myself. Why would I NOT want to see my students through Jesus' eyes? What would make me think that?

Why?

Because it hurts.

That's right. It's so much easier to just look at someone on the surface than to take time to truly see who they are. If I look too deeply I might see pain or sorrow or heartache. It makes it a lot simpler for those of us who don't like to feel that ache in our heart and lump in our throat if we filter what we see to only what is pleasant and easy to handle.

However, "simple" and "easy" are not words that are regularly, if ever, associated with the Christian life. Seeing people through Christ's eyes is not always pain free or without difficulty. Like I said before, though, it IS what we are called to do.

In John 13 we see the picture of Jesus washing his disciples' feet and warning them of his coming crucifixion. He also told them that he was going to be betrayed by one of them. After all of that, he then says in verses 34-35:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Simple? Easy? I think not! There are no qualifying statements there. It's a basic command . . . Love them! And on top of that, Jesus knew that he was going to be betrayed and he loved them still.

I say this because, ultimately, I do my best to walk into that classroom each day and love them, each precious (or not-so-precious) one of them. I also know that some of them are not going to reciprocate or even act like they care how I treat them. But I will do my best, because that is what I am commanded to do.

And maybe, just maybe, someday they will realize that I was just doing my best to see them through His eyes.