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Seeing Others Through the Eyes of God

A small crowd of people

One of the biggest barriers to fulfilling the commandment to love others is failing to see them as God sees them. Each human being is made in His image (Genesis 1:26) and has been watched their entire lives, even in the womb. God wants everyone to repent and reconcile with Him (2 Peter 3:9).


We live in a world that encourages us to judge quickly. We scroll past faces on screens, categorize strangers in traffic, and label people based on a single interaction. It is easy to see people as obstacles to our schedule, opponents to our politics, or simply as background noise to our own lives. When we see people in need, it is easy to blame them for their troubles so we have an excuse not to get involved.


We have an inexplicable ability as humans to always find someone to treat as “less than”. For instance, if you get mad at someone for being a racist, a sexist, or for any other reason, you might feel justified in treating them as less valuable—but that only continues the problem. That is what makes loving as Jesus loved so challenging. He died so that His enemies would have a chance for grace (Romans 5:8).


Jesus never saw people that way. When He looked at a crowd, He didn't see a nuisance; He saw "sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). To see like Jesus, we have to start by changing how we act and how we position ourselves (Philippians 2:3-5).


Believing We Are Who God Says We Are

If you look at psychological studies on why people put others into categories as "less than," they all have one thing in common: it is a way to defend our own egos and self-worth. To break this cycle, we have to find our value in the truth of Scripture.


We need to believe we are created in God’s own image (Genesis 1:27), fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14), and cherished as the apple of His eye (Zechariah 2:8). Because He has engraved us on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16) and delights over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17), we can trust that we are worth more than all creation (Matthew 10:31) and were loved so much that He sacrificed His own Son for us (John 3:16). This was done so that we could be adopted as brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:5; Romans 8:29) and share all eternity in an intimate, loving relationship with our Triune God (John 17:21-24; 2 Corinthians 13:14).


If we can rest our worth and identity in the One whose opinion is ultimate, we can stop trying to push people down to make ourselves feel superior.


Getting Your Heart into the Right Posture to See Others Through God's Eyes

If I can only teach you one thing, it is that your heart must be in the right posture. This is true for salvation (the moment we trust God for our future) and it is also true for sanctification (the lifelong process of becoming more like Him). You have to be "all-in." You have to be done with the pride that likes to put people down or "in their place". You have to hate gossip. You have to be ready to love as God loves.


We cannot simply "flip a switch" to start loving everyone, but we can take specific steps to put our hearts in the right place. These four habits help us stay humble and open to seeing others differently:


  1. Pray for Others (Even the Difficult Ones): It is a radical act to pray for people who annoy or oppose us (Matthew 5:44). Make it a habit to pray for God to bless the people you pass in the grocery store and the people who dislike you (Luke 6:28). When you bring someone before God, it becomes very hard to dismiss them. Here is the prayer/blessing I like to use from Numbers 6:24-26:

    • The Lord bless you and keep you;

      the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

      the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

  2. Love and Serve (Action Precedes Emotion): In God’s Kingdom, action often comes before feeling (1 John 3:18). Don't wait to "feel" love before you act. If you see a need and you can help, then do it. Sometimes giving out love is as simple as trying to brighten someone’s day. For a long time now, I have been closing my interactions with people by saying, “Have a blessed day.” Recently I have added something new for people like bank tellers, customer service, restaurant employees, etc. I also say, “I appreciate you.” Many of them have reacted by giving me a stunned look because they are not accustomed to people acknowledging their value.

  3. Look Deeper: One of our greatest mistakes is treating people like two-dimensional photographs. People have depth. Everyone you meet has a history, hurts, and a story you likely know nothing about. Jesus looked past reputations to see the heart; we must strive to do the same (Matthew 9:10-13).

  4. Be an Indiscriminate Light: A light does not choose which corners of the room it will illuminate (Matthew 5:14-16). Our love and kindness should extend to everyone, even those who believe differently than we do (Galatians 6:10).


The Heart Surgery: The Work of the Holy Spirit

When we commit to these habits, we are doing more than just being "nice." We are positioning ourselves for something much deeper: Sanctification. Think of sanctification as the Holy Spirit performing surgery on a willing heart (Ezekiel 36:26).


We cannot generate divine love on our own strength—trying to do so only leads to burnout. However, when we practice these steps, we are essentially laying ourselves on the "operating table" (Romans 12:1-2). As we stay in this posture of service and prayer, the Holy Spirit does the deep work of cutting away our bitterness and reshaping our character (Titus 3:5). It is a partnership: we provide the willing heart, and God provides the power to change our vision from the inside out (Philippians 2:12-13).


The Cost of a New Perspective

I am not going to lie to you. The more you see people as God sees them, the more your life will be uncomfortable and inconvenient (Matthew 16:24-25). Your burden for others will increase from a small circle of friends and family to a big world full of sin and suffering (Matthew 9:36-38).


This new vision will disrupt your schedule and challenge how you spend your money to help those in need, but it will also give you a front-row seat to the miraculous work of God's grace. It will hopefully drive you to take an active role in a loving and humble church so that your effectiveness to help your community will be radically increased (Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). We were never meant to carry this weight alone.


When we stop using people to prop up our own egos and start seeing them as treasures for whom Christ died, we finally begin to live out our true purpose. We become the salt and light we were always meant to be (Matthew 5:13-16). It is a harder path, but it is the only one that leads to the intimate, eternal relationship for which we were created.


Scripture used or considered in the writing of: "Seeing Others Through the Eyes of God" By RD Montgomery. All Scripture is in the ESV format unless otherwise specified.


Genesis 1:26-27

Leviticus 19:18

Numbers 6:24-26

1 Samuel 16:7

Psalm 119:105

Psalm 139:13-14

Psalm 139:15-16

Proverbs 15:1

Proverbs 16:28

Proverbs 20:5

Proverbs 21:13

Isaiah 49:16

Zechariah 2:8

Zephaniah 3:17

Ezekiel 36:26

Matthew 5:13-16

Matthew 5:14-16

Matthew 5:44

Matthew 7:7-14

Matthew 9:10-13

Matthew 9:36

Matthew 9:36-38

Matthew 10:31

Matthew 16:24-25

Matthew 22:37-39

Mark 10:45

Luke 6:28

Luke 10:25-37

Luke 12:7

Luke 18:9-14

John 3:16

John 7:24

John 13:35

John 15:12-13

John 17:21-24

Romans 5:8

Romans 8:29

Romans 10:9-10

Romans 12:1-2

Romans 13:8-10

1 Corinthians 4:3-4

1 Corinthians 12:12-27

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

2 Corinthians 5:20

2 Corinthians 13:14

Galatians 5:22-23

Galatians 6:10

Ephesians 1:5

Ephesians 4:29

Philippians 2:3-5

Philippians 2:12-13

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

1 Thessalonians 4:3

1 Thessalonians 4:9

1 Timothy 1:5

2 Timothy 2:24-25

Titus 3:5

Hebrews 10:24

Hebrews 10:24-25

James 4:6

1 Peter 1:18-19

2 Peter 3:9

1 John 3:17-18

1 John 4:7-12

1 John 4:16-21


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