How do you view the world around you? How often do you think about and pray about matters outside your own life and family? God counsels us to see our lives and the world around us through His eyes. He commands us to regard the needs of others as more important than our own, to bring relief to the poor, the oppressed, the fatherless, and widows. In other words, as we think about our ambitions and life goals, we find God’s best for us when others are at the center of those ambitions. We are, after all, blessed to bless others.
You may say, “But my life is so busy already, how can I find time to think about the needs of others?” Or perhaps you find yourself so overwhelmed by the immensity of world concerns that you find yourself feeling paralyzed and do nothing. I’ve known the feeling.
Have you ever asked God to see others through His eyes? Instead of viewing others as a distraction, an interruption, a nuisance, or a mere way of getting more for yourself, ask God to show you how much He loves them. Seeing others through the eyes of Jesus transforms the way we interact with those around us and the way we think about and view those around the world. A war-torn country, a tragic ferry disaster, and persecuted and martyred Christians in the middle east are transformed from remote situations into personal awareness; personal awareness leads to more passionate prayer concerns. And your prayers, if they include listening to God’s response, lead to greater personal response.
If you sponsor a child through Compassion or World Vision or some other similar organization, you are opening your eyes to see others as God sees them. Your $1/day provides for vital needs and provides opportunity for children to find God’s love and purpose for their lives. Your fervent and daily prayers for that child seek God’s divine intervention in their life. But what if you pray also for the child’s family and maybe send them a gift once a year, not only to provide for them but to remind them that you care and are praying for them? What if you start praying also for their community, that others around them would find God’s love? And what if you started praying for that child’s country and tune your mind to learn more about their conditions and learning how God is at work there?
Asking God to see others through His eyes transforms us from self-focus to seeing others.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart…and love OTHERS as He loves you.