There is a discipline I am always working on: to be able to see others as God sees them. There seems to be no higher way of loving one another than to practice this over and over until it is comes easily and effortlessly. It comes out of an explanation given in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.
Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God's own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick.
Imagine with me, the ability to truly see others in this way. And to realize the healing power this carries! Of course, this is easy to do with friends who are wonderful, children who are brilliant and colleagues who are witty and kind (all of whom I have blogged about at one time or another). But when the other person is less than enamored with you, well, that's another story.
The scenario was that I was to be married. One of the family members (his side) was not happy at all. However, the wedding took place and so did the patient and persistant effort to see this person as God did.
In this space I had to see that my self-justification had to be ruled out, as did trying to withhold affection. It was impossible to ignore this person although I did try avoidance, arguments, and stony silence. Of course, none of these things helped one bit.
What did help was to keep finding those things that were Christlike in this person. I would do this even though I was tempted to indulge in some of those things mentioned above. Soon, it got easier and easier to sees this person as Christlike. Soon, I was defending this person when I heard an unkind comment. It was getting easier to see in this person the qualities of dedication, loyalty, fairness and commitment. I was also sharpening my ability to separate the wheat from the tares, and not get caught up in arguments.
Years later, we got an unexpected check from this person with a note that this gift was given to all the children when they got married, and in a gracious way, we were to get this check now.
This relationship continues to get better. And so does my quest to continue to see others as God sees them. To me, it is the key to loving one another - whatever the circumstances may be.
There is a beautiful song by Mindy Jostyn, In His Eyes, that inspires me each time I hear it. Click here to hear a clip.
To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.
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