THROUGH JESUS' EYES

2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

In John Grisham's popular novel A Painted House, he detailed the lives of three groups of people who were despised by many: Mexicans, backwoods hill people, and those who leased land to grow cotton. Prejudice and hatred ran high. Violence erupted. Terrible things were seen and done. Yet Grisham showed as well the kindness and integrity the people of each group were capable of.

Jesus has given us an enormous responsibility as "ministers of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18). It is both awesome and serious because of its great privilege: God has entrusted us with the task of coming alongside lost people and telling them that they can be made right with God. We can whisper to their hearts that God loves them--enough to send His Son to die for them.

For us to achieve this task of ministry we must look at everyone through the eyes of Jesus. We must see people as He did. When He looked at the often-married woman of Samaria, He saw her as a person who needed the unfailing love of God. We must see them not only as they are, but as they could be. When Jesus looked at the cheating Zacchaeus, He saw him as someone whose heart would be transformed by the love of God. When He looked at the adulterous woman dragged before Him, He saw a self-despising, desperate person who needed the deliverance and respect that only God can give.

We can't be ambassadors of God's reconciliation if we paste labels on the foreheads of those who need Him. Followers of Jesus are people who look past the appearance and the history to see a person God loves, a person for whom Jesus died, a person He can transform, a person who can one day share heaven with us.

We can do that only when we look at people through the eyes of Jesus. --Dave Egner

DESTINATION POINTS

* How would I say in my own words the phrase, "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors"? (1 Corinthians 5:20).
* Whom do I tend to look down on? How can I begin to see people as Jesus did?
* To whom should I be ministering Christ's reconciliation right now?

LINKS
The Mind Of Christ
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0209

The Compassion Of Jesus
http://www.discoveryseries.org/q0208

bottom line: Through Jesus' eyes we see without prejudice.

soul journey