The Joseph CallingSample

Seeing Through God's Eyes

How would you respond if you heard something bad happened to someone who had been trying to cut off your head for several years? King Saul had been seeking to kill David for many years before Saul was thrust into battle against the Amalekites. In this final battle, a sword killed Saul. When the news reached David, instead of rejoicing that his enemy was no longer a problem for him, he responded in a totally different manner. He mourned. Imagine that—he mourned for the one who sought to kill him.

This is a sign of one who can look past an individual who is the source of pain and consider how God views him. God looks on that individual and sees his needs and knows why he responds the way he does. When we begin to see people as God does, we'll no longer look at them as enemies, but as souls in need of grace. This is how Jesus could give of his life for us. He saw our great need, not what we did to him. When someone wrongs you, do you seek to retaliate, or do you pray to understand the need behind the offender's actions? For several years, a person was a source of constant pain and retaliation toward me. There was nothing I could do to change it. God allowed me to go beyond the person's actions to understand what was the source of his need. When I gained that understanding, God gave me a picture of this person inside a prison cell and in bondage. This bondage made him respond to life in this way. I could pray for him and genuinely love him in spite of the fact that he persecuted me. This is the kind of love Jesus wants us to have when he tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who spitefully use us.

God does a special work of grace in those who go beyond the realm of normal response to persecution, bringing us to a level of grace we never thought possible.