“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” ~
I am reminded of the Gospel passage when Jesus asked His disciples, “What did you go out to see?” as He questioned them about John the Baptist. Jesus said that John was all of that, and much more. Many people never saw John for who he was because they allowed themselves to get caught up in John’s outward appearance and mannerisms. They could not conceive of the fact that John the Baptist was the “great prophet” for whom Israel longed: the one who was to herald the Messiah.
Of course, if they could not see John for who he was, there was no way that they were going to be able to see Jesus for who He was. Jesus, to many, was a rabble-rouser. He was a nuisance. He was someone to be dealt with aggressively and decisively. Since they could not see Jesus for who He was, they decided the best course of action was to put Him to death.
We spend a lot of our lives looking at things and people and trying to determine what and who they are. However, the vast amount of time, we look superficially, at externals, rather than attempting to look at the entire picture or the entire person.
Think about the number of times we have become upset because somebody did not take the time to understand us completely. Yet, we do the same to others all the time. We need to remember that “the question is not what you look at, but what you see.”
If we ask God for the particular grace that we need, we will be able to view other things and other people through God’s eyes rather than our own. What a wonder awaits us when we see things truly and completely, the way God wants us to see them!
FAITH ACTION: Pray for the insight to see what God is revealing to you this day.