I can see clearly now...

...that I have glasses. :)  I'm slightly near sighted, so I recently got glasses - mainly for use when driving at night.  It's pretty amazing at how much clearer and crisp everything looks.  I can read signs for further away than I ever remember being able to read.  And everything looks like an overly sharpened photograph.  Outlines are clearer, flowers, grass, and trees are spectacular... It all just looks that much better with glasses.

So I started thinking... what about my spiritual eyes?  Do I need "spiritual glasses"?  If physical eyes can falter so much, what does that say about how I view people?  I think of that song, "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath... if you listen to Christian radio at all, you've probably heard it. :)   The song talks about how people are so much more than face value.  We have no idea what might be going on in the lives of people around us.  The guy we pass on the street might've been laid off.  The rude cashier could have had a recently deceased family member.

But then it goes even deeper than that.  All we can see is the results of the influences and things upon a person. We can't see who they are on the inside - the heart of a person - without investing time and effort in a person.  And even then our eyes can falter.  A habit that they've developed may be normal in their family, but it might be strange or even distasteful in our eyes.  The examples could go on and on.  We often see people at face value - for what we see immediately.  How does God see people?

God sees them as valuable.  He loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.  He gave them a way to be saved.  Even if no one accepted His gift, He still would have died.  Every person is special to Him; He saw every moment of their lives before the earth was even formed.  Imagine!  As He was creating light He thought of you.  And every other individual.  He was there, personally forming each baby in their mother's womb.  His thoughts about us are ENDLESS!  Every person is valuable in His sight.  He loves every detail of their lives, and delights in their individual qualities... even ones we might find annoying.

When we are constantly thinking about how God views the world... when we filter everything we see through His lenses, we won't be so quick to judge.  Hurtful thoughts or even words we might have said no longer seem relevant.  As we seek God, Who is Love, we understand His love for people, and we act as He does.  So whether you wear glasses or not, don't neglect to wear God's glasses.  You might end up seeing something beautiful.