SEEING BEYOND THE SURFACE
01st Jun 2022
Some nights ago, I had a very detailed dream. I awoke with the knowledge that God was using it to cause me to think and respond to some serious questions raised by the contents of this dream.
It concerned people who in the past had worshipped, lived and worked with us. They had moved to a different part of the country and became involved with people whose faith was expressed in very different ways than ours. Our present contact with them was very limited, and so I was somewhat surprised to have such a clear and detailed dream.
As I awoke the Holy Spirit asked me a question - Do you think I still love them? and another - Have they lost their contact with Me? and another - Have you rejected them? Challenging!
I Samuel 16:7 in the Message says, “God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at faces; God looks into the heart.”
King David’s family saw him as the runt, not even important enough to come to the feast where the prophet Samuel would bless the family. But God, and Samuel saw the heart of a future king, one who knew the limit of his own ability and who was learning to rely on God’s power to help him in very ordinary situations. That reliance and relationship with God went on to defeat Goliath and the Philistines.
Jesus sees hearts. In dealing with His disciples He knows exactly how they function; some very rational, some more able to trust Him because of who He is. We see Philip calculating the cost of feeding the crowd, and Andrew finding a very small amount of food, but knowing and hoping that in the hands of Jesus, anything could happen!
I want to see situations and people through the eyes of faith. So often when we see people acting in ways that are contrary to what we believe we reject or enforce our viewpoint, cause strife and distance ourselves. Jesus saw Judas’ heart, but kept loving.
Lord, help us to do the same.
by Joyce Sibthorpe
