Seeing Through the
Eyes of Jesus
If we are to be compelled forward in evangelism by the love of Christ, we must understand what it means to see the world through his eyes.
Eyes of love
The first thing we need to understand about how Jesus sees the world is his total love for people. In Matthew 9:36-37, we catch a glimpse of what Jesus saw when he looked at the crowds:
"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few...'"
Again in Matthew 14:14:
"When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."
Over and over again, we see this motivation of compassion behind the ministry of Jesus. Take a look at these verses:
* Matthew 15:32 - "Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 'I have compassion for these people...'"
* Matthew 20:34 - "Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes."
* Mark 1:41 - "Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man."
* Mark 10:21 - "Jesus looked at him and loved him."
* Luke 7:13 - "When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her..."
Jesus saw everything through the lens of love and he expects you to see the world around you through the same lens.
Eyes of truth
Love and truth are inseparable in Scripture. Isaiah 40:10-11 connects them together in two consecutive verses. 2 John 1:3 tells us that God's grace, mercy and peace "will be with us in truth and love." 1 Corinthians 13:6 informs us that love, by its very nature, always "rejoices with the truth." And Ephesians 4:15 instructs us to "[speak] the truth in love".
If love cannot be separated from truth, it stands to reason that when Jesus viewed the world through the lens of love, he also viewed the world through the lens of truth.
There is a harvest
In John 4:35, Jesus declared :
"Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest'."
A harvest surrounds us - it surrounds our homes; it fills our schools and workplaces; it spills out onto the streets. God wants to open our eyes to see the harvest the way he does.
There is a Lord of the harvest
In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus declared:
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
There is not only a harvest. There is also a Lord of the harvest. We need to have a revelation of both these truths before we can become effective workers in his harvest field. You are not called, just as one person, to lead the world to Christ. God doesn’t throw you out into the middle of his harvest and say: "There you are. Now get to work!" No, God is very concerned for his harvest. He doesn't want it trampled down by careless workers. So he trains his workers and send them out - not just as individual harvesters, but as part of a world-spanning team of harvesters.