Seeing with God's Eyes

Introduction

Over the past several days, people have been asking me where God is amid the chaos in our world.

Our scriptures today remind us where God is...

...God is stamped in the hearts of all humanity.

Yet… there has been an increase in rhetoric and legislation that pushes people bearing this image out of society.

Earlier this week, I heard a public figure say that Muslims do not belong in American society.

The language of exclusion tells our neighbors that they are outsiders in the place they call home.

As people of God, when we permit such exclusionary language, we distort the character of God...

...whose prevenient grace extends to all people.

I found myself thinking about Muslim families in communities like ours...

...parents raising children...

...students going to school...

...people working—often in the jobs no one else wants to do...

...and what I felt was tension in my shoulders...

...pain in my soul.

The church is called to proclaim the gospel that teaches us this...

...suspicion and hostility toward our neighbors is incompatible with the way of Christ.

Jesus consistently moved toward those who were marginalized...

...misunderstood...

...or treated as enemies.

The call of the church is not to deepen divisions among religions but to build relationships rooted in dignity, justice, and peace.

...and of course, this is not the only place we see this dynamic unfolding.

Across the country, there are debates about legislation affecting transgender people.

In recent months, there have also been disturbing attacks on synagogues.

In our streets, immigrants are being rounded up, and children are being separated from their parents.

In earlier generations, neighborhoods were redlined in ways that systematically excluded Black families from opportunities others enjoyed...

...and today we see new forms of exclusion in debates about voting rights.

Different communities.

Different moments in history.

But the same question keeps surfacing in every generation...

Who belongs… and who does not?

There are times when governments legislate people out of society. When such occurs, Scripture calls the people of God to discern the heart of God.

Which brings us to the question we must discern together today: How do we learn to see people the way God sees them?

God Sees the Heart

Learning to see people the way God sees them begins with the heart.

Let me invite you to imagine the scene.

Samuel has arrived at Jesse’s house because God has told him that the next king of Israel will come from this family.

So Jesse begins lining up his sons before the prophet.

Now imagine that lineup unfolding in our world today.

The first person steps forward.

Confident, educated, comfortable with power.

The kind of leader society assumes is in charge.

Samuel looks and thinks...

Surely this must be the one.

But the Lord whispers...

Not this one.

Another one steps forward...

A person with wealth and influence, whose decisions shape economies.

Samuel thinks again...

Surely this must be the one.

But the Lord says...

Not this one.

Another one steps forward...

A charismatic politician.

The kind of leaders who can command a crowd and dominate a debate stage...

Surely this must be the one...

But again the Lord says...

Not this one.

Another one steps forward...

Someone with a flawless resume who fits every cultural expectation of leadership.

But again the Lord says...

Not this one.

Seven times the obvious candidate appears...

Seven times God says no.

Finally, Samuel asks Jesse...

“Are all your sons here?”

...and Jesse hesitates...

Well…

“There remains yet the youngest,

but he is keeping the sheep.”

The one nobody invited into the room.

The one nobody expected.

The one everyone overlooked.

...and when he arrives, the Lord says:

“Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.”

The one everyone overlooked turns out to be the one God had already seen.

For the Lord does not see as mortals see.

Humans look at outward appearance.

But the Lord looks on the heart.

This moment in the story is more than a surprising twist.

Earlier in Israel’s history, Samuel had helped choose the first king, Saul.

...and Saul looked exactly like what people expected a king to look like.

Scripture tells us he was the tallest and most impressive man in Israel.

Samuel trusted what his eyes could see.

But Saul’s leadership eventually collapsed, and now God corrects Samuel’s vision.

The problem was not Samuel’s sincerity.

The problem was his sight.

Even a prophet can mistake appearance for character.

Even a seer can mis-see.

God, however, sees differently.

In scripture, the heart is the center of a person’s life…

…the place where character, wisdom, and commitment live.

God was not looking for the most impressive body in the room.

God was looking for the most faithful heart.

...and this struggle to see people the way God sees them is not just a problem in ancient Israel.

It is something we encounter every day.

Recently, I came across an insight from Malidoma Some...

...who invites us to reconsider the way we look at someone society might call “crazy.”

He suggests we ask a different question:

...what gifts might be lost to the community if we fail to recognize that person’s purpose?

That insight has challenged me.

Because if we are honest, many of us move through our daily routines making quick assumptions about the people around us.

We see someone talking to themselves on the street...

...and we look away.

We see someone sitting on a sidewalk asking for help...

...and we assume we already know their story.

We hear someone with an accent...

...and we assume they have nothing we could learn from.

But what if the person we overlook is carrying a gift the community desperately needs?

What if the one standing at the edge of the room is someone through whom God intends to bless us?

Which raises an important question for us as a church.

It is good that we serve meals.

It is good that we distribute clothing.

It is good that we volunteer in acts of mercy.

But if we only serve people from across a table...

...if we hand someone a bagged meal but never learn their name...

...if we walk past someone’s story without ever pausing to listen...

...then we may still be seeing the way the world sees.

Learning to see people the way God sees them requires something deeper than charity.

It requires relationship.

It requires conversation.

It requires the humility to believe that the person we assumed had nothing to offer might actually be someone God has already seen.

Because the story of David reminds us of something essential...

...the one who was overlooked may be the very one God has already chosen.

Seeing in Christ’s Light

Learning to see people the way God sees them begins with the heart.

But the good news of the gospel is that God does more than see us.

In Christ, light enters the darkness and opens our eyes.

The apostle Paul describes this transformation in his letter to the Ephesians.

He writes: “Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Walk as children of light.”

Notice something striking about Paul’s language.

He does not say that we once walked in darkness.

He says we were darkness.

In other words, the problem is not only the brokenness around us.

It is also the ways our hearts and habits have learned to see the world through distorted lenses.

But something changes when Christ’s light enters our lives.

Paul says, “Now in the Lord you are light.”

Light has a way of transforming how we see.

When light enters a dark room, it reveals what had been hidden.

...and it allows us to see what we could not see before.

This is why Paul continues: “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness; rather, expose them.”

Darkness survives by remaining unseen.

But when Christ’s light shines on us, our vision begins to change.

We begin to recognize dignity where the world once taught us to see difference.

We begin to recognize belovedness where the world once taught us to see threat.

I have been reminded of that truth in conversations with some of our transgender neighbors.

Many transgender people describe their journey not as rejecting God’s creation...

...but as searching for integrity between body and spirit...

...seeking wholeness in the life God has given them.

...and what I have learned from listening to those stories is this...

Much of the pain they experience does not come from who they are...

It comes from living in a world where many people refuse to see them clearly.

Where people speak about them without knowing them.

Where their lives become debates instead of relationships.

But when we pause long enough to listen...

When we hear someone’s story...

Something begins to change...

The light turns on.

...and suddenly the person we thought we understood becomes far more human...

...far more complex...

...far more beloved than we realized.

In just a few weeks, on March 31, many communities will observe Transgender Day of Visibility.

For the church, moments like this are not first about politics.

They are about people.

They are about remembering that every person we encounter bears the image of God.

...and perhaps the most faithful response we can offer is not certainty about someone else’s life...

...but curiosity, humility, and compassion.

It might mean taking time to listen to stories beyond our own experience.

It might mean standing beside neighbors who too often feel unseen.

Because when Christ’s light shines on us...

We begin to see what God has been seeing all along.

Kerygmatic Fulfillment

We have been wrestling with this question...

How do we learn to see people the way God sees them?

Because there are moments in history when societies begin deciding who belongs and who does not.

There are moments when laws are written, rhetoric is spoken, and entire communities are pushed to the margins.

...and in those moments, Scripture calls the people of God to discern the heart of God.

But here is the truth the gospel reveals...

We cannot learn to see differently on our own.

Scripture reminds us that we ourselves once walked in darkness.

We, too, have judged by appearances.

We, too, have misunderstood our neighbors.

We, too, have failed to recognize the image of God in others.

But the good news of the gospel is this:

In Jesus Christ, light has entered the world.

...and when Christ's light shines on us, it does more than forgive us.

It awakens us.

It exposes the darkness within our hearts…

…and opens our eyes to the sacred worth already present in every human life.

Which is why the apostle writes in Ephesians:

“Sleeper, awake!

Rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you!”

Because when Christ shines on us...

...we begin to see our neighbors differently.

We begin to see the image of God where we once saw difference.

We begin to see beloved children of God where the world sees outsiders.

...and slowly… by grace...

We set aside the labels that divide us...

...Muslim, Jew, Immigrant, Black, Transgender...

...and we begin to recognize the sacred worth God has placed within every life.

We begin to see with God’s eyes. 

In the name of our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.