Seeing With Heaven's Eyes

 

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” -Luke 7:39-40

I find these verses are a key paradigm shift for most people. Most of us think exactly the way Simon does - that hearing from God means seeing someone’s sin. If you see with God’s eyes, then we are dirty, filthy, and dreadfully sinful. They are afraid of getting too close to God for exactly this reason. However, God is standing in the room, and he has different thoughts.Yes he sees the sin but he sees much more than that. He sees beyond the sin and into her transformation and love.

Simon thinks exactly like most people do today - that God sees us principally with our sin. That is takes God to see our sin. However, it doesn’t take a prophet to see sin - in fact, most people can see it and everyone in that room knew the kind of woman that was there. What does take God’s perspective for is to see deeper into the person, to see what God’s plans for them are and to call them to it.

This is my favorite part of being a believer - in Christ, we can pray and see things that do not yet exist in the physical. We can see what God is calling people to, not just what they are or what they’ve done. We can see with the eyes of heaven and have hope where others have none.

Weight

Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders. - Hebrews 12:1

"Throw off" - the greek word is ogkos and it specifically talks about athletes before the race. In greek times, the athletes would train with weights on, then for the race they would take everything off, even their clothes so there would be nothing in their way.

Throwing off everything that hinders. I think people get really hung up about sin or not… Whether this thing is sinful or that thing is sinful. The issue is this - if you are debating it, doesn’t that mean it’s at least a hindrance even if it’s not a sin?

God has so much for us, and such a life of power. Why are we focused just on the requirements of getting into heaven and forgetting the real purpose and point of a life in the Spirit? That’s like thinking the goal of the race is to qualify for it!

 

Broken Cisterns

“My people have committed 2 sins: they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug cisterns that can hold no water at all!” -Jer 2:13

This was written in the heyday of Israel’s sinning, when there were many, many sins being created. Adultery, idol worship, cheating the poor… You name it, it was there! But God summed them all up in these verses.

First, we forsake God and His ways that give whole life and living, fresh water. Then we spend our time digging cisterns that hold no water. Every time you go back to them, there is nothing there; they satisfy the moment you put water in but the next day you are dry, thirsty, and needing more.

The concept of living water was deeply ingrained in biblical culture. Living water was running water or water from springs; pure water that didn’t collect trash, couldn’t breed mosquitos, and was self-replenishing. Cisterns are still, breed mosquitos, cholera and other diseases, but they were all around because of the desert culture. Broken cisterns take a lot of effort and have little return. The most frustrating part is that they appear to be fine, but slowly your water and all the effort you put into them drains away and you are left with nothing. We have a water tank at our home and I have spent more time trying to fix that thing than any other home improvement. It’s maddening; we fill it up and all the water slowly leaks into the street. Man can create cisterns but only God can make living water.

These verses have a continuity to them. Because we have forsaken the Living Water God has for us, we feel the need to dig broken cisterns.  This has profound implications for how we treat sin. I think the church is good about treating the 2nd part; about telling people to close off the cisterns and wells. However, I think we often forget the need for water in the first place. We forget that sins come from good desires within us that have been distorted.

People have to drink water from somewhere. If we don’t introduce people to living water, it becomes extremely difficult for them to fill in their cisterns. It’s an exchange and we actually have to start with showing them the good. “Don’t steal” isn’t enough; we need to show the joy and pride of hard work, and that we were created to do something on this Earth. “Don’t sleep around” isn’t enough for transformation; we need to find that deeper desire in that person and help them fulfill it in the life-giving way God set about for them.

Likewise, we can even change our own personal dialogue. Instead of being disgusted with ourselves when we see sins crop up, we can see each sin as an opportunity to know God and live the life He has for us in a deeper way and in a way we don’t understand yet.

I recently read an article called “Video game addiction isn’t really about video games”. Psychologists are pointing out that many kids turn to games, not because they are addicted to them, but because they have desires to explore the world, make a difference, and do something with their lives that they feel they can’t do in real life. Most addiction is like that; there is a burning hole of pain, a terrible thirst but it’s not for drugs or sex but something deeper.

 

We love blaming unbelievers for the state of our country...

if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. -2 Chronicles 7:14

For being such an oft-quoted verse, I hear few people really breaking this one down. There is a lot in the Bible that can be better understood from a contractual perspective than from a theological perspective. Why? God keeps His word. That means everything in the Bible can be read as a contract. We can even see in Daniel that God doesn’t mind being reminded of His promises, as Daniel prayed and fasted for the 70 years of exile to end.

So, who does this apply to? Believers; those who are called by His name. This echoes the 3rd commandment: do not take the Lord God’s name in vain. When we become a Christian, we are taking on the name and reputation of God. People will curse God’s name or bless Him because of our actions, so don’t take on the name if you don’t mean it! This is one of the reasons I’m against the way we flippantly ask for salvations without asking people to count the cost first. Yes, salvation is free but I see Jesus’s model of evangelism being in telling people to count the cost up front, then follow Him. Refusing Jesus’s model means we have much of the church that struggles for years giving up basic parts of their life because they didn’t at the time of salvation.

This verse singles out God’s people. Uh-oh. We love blaming unbelievers for the state of our country, for issues and problems that our country is going through. But the Bible makes it clear: the fate of the blessing of the country is in the hands of the church, not in the hands of the rest of the population. This is a fact we must constantly keep in mind. It does no good blaming the rest of society! If we want true change, we must look inside the church, not outside of it.

There are 4 qualifications on the result:

• Humble themselves. Super important but often overlooked, we must stop trying to do things ourselves and stop pretending that we have it all together and go to the throne of God.
• Pray. It’s not enough to be humble. We must ask God to do something. As is often stated in the Bible, this verse talks about the activeness of the Christian faith. We don’t just wait for God to do things but we have an integral part in bringing heaven to Earth.
• Seek My Face. It’s not enough to just pray. We must seek the face of God. What does that mean? It can be waiting in silence, hearing what God has to say to us. It can be in reading the Bible blinders off, not looking for what we want to find in the scriptures but reading them to see what they really say and what they reveal about God. I find it so interesting that God splits this from regular prayer and I think it’s important that we do the same.
• Turn from their wicked ways. Wow this is general, but as often is the case, when God is angry with His people over sin, He is talking about habits and reoccurring issues, not one-time problems. In English, there is no difference between sin (a lifestyle, habits, and constant issues) vs sin (a one-time mistake, problem, or failing) but in many other languages including Greek, there is a distinct difference.

I don’t think I can stress how important this is, or how blind we are to our own wicked ways. Just spend time with a Christian from another culture - you’ll quickly be shocked at things they find acceptable and you don’t, and things you do that they take biblical exception to. In the US, sexual sin is dealt with harshly, but gossip isn’t, even when it’s habitual. What about greed; wanting more than what you need, or gluttony; taking more than you can possibly use or need in this life? They are almost praised in many Christian circles and I have never heard a message against them, though in most village churches those things are seen as sin.

Yes, we talk about tithing, but we often neglect the more important aspects of the law: justice, mercy and faith (Matt 23:23). Speaking of faith, I don’t know if there is a word for this but I see many people that specifically build their lives around not needing God. Somehow we’ve taken the gospel and the American dream of independence and melded them into a Christianity where it’s biggest goal is to get to a place where we are independent spiritually and don’t need God. I wonder how much this pains the Lord: it must be like raising kids who have no intention of ever talking to their parents once they finish paying off college for them.

That’s just the American list. The Mozambicans are so worried about whether someone is drinking that they neglect many of the more powerful aspects of scripture. I find much of the same attitudes as in the US but with different manifestations…

If your land is not producing, has war, or is destitute, investigate this list as you would investigate a contract. Make sure you are fulfilling each part just like you would in a dispute over a bill. After all, God is faithful and can be taken at His word.

Lord, help me to see my life with your eyes. Help me to see what you are calling me to do instead of blaming those around me for the state of my country.