What do you see?

Scriptures: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promises, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9)

At one point in his ministry, Dwight L. Moody had a visitor from Great Britain. This visitor was a pastor himself and had been interested in how Moody’s ministry could have been so successful. So, during one of Moody’s crusade in New York, he went there and stayed in the same hotel where Moody stayed.

One night, he went to visit Moody and asked Moody the motivation behind his ministries. Moody asked him, “What do you see outside?” This pastor went to the window and look outside and saw nothing but New York nigh lights and lots of people going up and down the streets. So he turned around and told Moody, “Nothing really!” Moody told him to look again and this pastor came to the same conclusion.

But Moody told him to look the third time. This English pastor tried the third time and was frustrated for not being able to see anything significant. So he turned to Moody and complained, “What exactly did you want me to see?” To this, Moody walked up to the window and look out into the streets. He turned to his visitor with tears in his eyes and said, “Did you see those people going up and down the street? Without the good news of Lord Jesus’ salvation, they will all perish.”

Both Moody and the English pastor saw the same group of people. But that picture meant differently to them. That pastor saw a lot of New Yorkers busy going about their daily businesses. But, to Moody, they are a group of people in need of the grace of salvation from God. More than in need, Moody saw the devastating consequence of not sharing the gospel with them. What he saw made a huge difference in his ministries.

One time, when told about a group of “Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices,” (Luke 13:1) Jesus said, “Do you think these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13:2-3) While those people knew about the tragedy of those Galileans like Jesus, they only went so far as to think that those Galileans died as a result of their sins. Jesus, on the other hand, saw a much greater danger hiding behind such spectator commentary. He saw the need of getting right with God through repentance without which we would all perish.

Such was Jesus’ heart, always concerned with human blindness and inability in getting a clear vision of the spiritual reality. If only we see the spiritual reality like Jesus, how different will we respond to those who wrong us? How different will we treat each person God sends our way? How different will our understandings be for the purposes of our own lives?

I guess what we see play an important role on what we do. Moody saw the need of salvation and dedicated his life to preaching the good news of our Lord Jesus. Many other great servants and maids of God did exactly the same thing Moody did and made a tremendous difference in the Kingdom of God. How about us? What do we see in our everyday life? What catches our attention? Is it news in TV’s and newspapers like the crisis in our economy; the crisis in the Middle East; the crisis of H1N1 epidemic; the crisis of nuclear threat in Northeast Asia; the crisis of Somali pirates; and more? What did we see in these news? Did we really know what they meant to us?

Maybe it’s time for us to readjust the focus of our spiritual lens. Let’s switch to using the lens our Lord Jesus used. Paul said, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” (Philippians 2:5 KJV) When we do so, I am convinced that will be the moment when we will truly be empowered and motivated to do His will and “may have power, together with all saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Prayer Requests:
For all those searching for opportunities to expand God’s Kingdom

Prayer:
Our heavenly Father, thank You for giving purposes and meanings to our lives. Please help us to see this world with all the people and all that’s going on in it through Your eyes so we may know Your plans for us and may respond to Your callings in every encounter with people and with every circumstances for we pray in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus, Amen!