what do you see?

I made an interesting observation after my last post. It was the first time I got no response. Made me wonder...did my confession make people uncomfortable...disappointed...convicted? I don't know. But as I said at the outset of this endeavor, it's more for my good than anything else, and it was refreshing for me to admit my shortcomings.

I've been processing this commission to be imitators, and as I meditate on v. 16 of 2 Cor. 5, I face another real challenge. "Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer." I don't claim to fully understand what this verse is saying, but here's what I do know. My natural tendency is to see people and respond to them based on their outward appearance-according to the flesh. A few examples of this: male/female, short/tall, skin color, tattoos, body piercings, clothing. And Paul is telling those of us who are followers of Christ that we ought to be stepping away from that natural tendency. While Christ walked on this earth, that's how people responded to Him: who he hung out with, what he ate, when he did certain activities.

The challenge for me comes in recognizing that God views us differently. He does not recognize us according to the flesh. In fact He tells Samuel in his quest for the next king, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." I don't know what Eliab had going on inside, but God saw something that kept him from being fit to be the next king. And as Jesus made His dwelling among us, we see that He saw the multitudes and "felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd." There are other examples from Jesus' life as well where someone came for physical healing and He responded by telling them their sins were forgiven.

Is it possible for me to take on this ability to look below the surface. I want to be discerning as I cross paths with people. I want to not be distracted by their appearance, but be sensitive to their hearts, to the needs that are less evident but just as real. Lord, give me eyes to see as You see, and ears to hear the cries of people's hearts. Help me to be a true imitator of You.