Through The Eyes Of Love

Here are a few lines from one of my daily devotionals this week:  “…the whole identity of the Messiah covers those who believe in Him.  We are in Him and He is in us…We and Jesus are inseparable…We have become one with Him, and God loves it.  The Father can’t love Jesus without loving us just the same…God already sees you through the lens of His beloved Son; learn to see yourself through the same lens.”  * 

After I read that last sentence the thing that popped into my mind was these words – “through the eyes of love” – that’s how God sees us.  It made me think about the story of the prodigal son and the way that the father welcomed the wayward son back home with wide open, loving arms.  He didn’t see his son as the sinful young man that had walked away from him, he only saw him through the eyes of love – that love a parent has for a child.  That is how our Father God always sees us too – through the eyes of love.  His thoughts and His ways are so much deeper than we can even comprehend. 

“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord.  ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’”  (Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT)

“But the Lord told him, ‘Samuel, don’t think Eliab is the one just because he’s tall and handsome. He isn’t the one I’ve chosen. People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts.’”  (1 Samuel 16:7 CEV)

In 1979, Melissa Manchester recorded the song “Through The Eyes of Love” as the theme song for the movie “Ice Castles”.  But even before that, in 1969, Engelbert Humperdinck had recorded a song by that same title.  Here are the first three verses to that song:

This heart of mine belongs to you

Take care of it be kind

For I must go where you may lead

The eyes of love are blind

I may not see the things that I should see

The danger there might be in store

And I may do just what I shouldn’t do

Because I’m looking through the eyes of love

It is true I know that eyes of love

Might dim the view for me

But eyes of love can see so much

That other eyes don’t see

I like those song verses.  If we view others through the eyes of love – with God-like love – they will be blind to weaknesses and failures.  We may not even see the things that maybe we should see because our love is more powerful.  But those eyes of love will hopefully help us see good that others may not be able to see.

But we must learn to view ourselves through eyes of love – just as God sees us.  We are of great value and we should never, ever forget that.  It’s too easy to get down on ourselves when we make mistakes or when others make negative comments about us.  Remember, their opinions don’t matter.  The only opinion that matters is God’s; and, He is always looking at us through the eyes of love. 

Written by Karran Martin – May 6, 2023

[All bold emphasis is mine]

*Quotes by Chris Tiegreen