Seeing Ourselves as God Sees Us
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’
Matthew 25: 37-40
We show our love to God by reflecting his love to the lost and hurting. This means we go into the world seeking to help souls in need. How do we obtain a compassionate, caring heart for these souls; the homeless, the addicted, and those in prison? It takes faith and courage to step out into the unknown to be a light for Christ. But when we do this the Lord changes us.
How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? (Luke 6:24) When we minister to lost souls, we see ourselves through God’s eyes, and He often reveals the plank that is in our own eyes. We come to realize that through God’s eyes, the only thing that separates us from the hurting, the homeless, the addicted, and the imprisoned, is Christ. We all come from a broken world as sinners and enemies of God. For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! (Romans 5:10) Regardless of our situation in life, only Christ can free us from our sinful nature.
God’s love passes through us to others as we minister to lost, hurting souls. We develop the compassionate and caring heart of Jesus. We are then further motivated to minister to others. We are able to share how the Lord has helped us and likewise, how He can help them. This motivation comes through our thankfulness to God who has helped us and through the love and compassion He has put in our hearts. The Lord helps us identify with people to whom we minister by revealing our own sinful nature. Through Christ, we are sinless before the Father; but without Christ, He sees all our acts as dirty rags. All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6)
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18) As Christians we see ourselves as God sees us, and then we minister to lost souls, remembering who we were before we accepted Christ. The more we minister to others, the more God enables us to identify with them, and this fuels compassion in our hearts.
Today, seek to see yourself through the eyes of God. When ministering to others, try to identify with them by remembering who you were before accepting Christ. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)
Let’s pray: Lord, help me to see myself through Your eyes. Help me to value others above myself and guide me in the Spirit so I can help others. Keep molding me to be Christ-like so people may see a kind and caring heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.