Spiritual Eyes

"Who has believed our message?

To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?

My servant grew up in the LORD's presence

like a tender green shoot,

like a root in dry ground.

There was nothing beautiful or majestic

about his appearance,

nothing to attract us to him.

He was despised and rejected--

a man of sorrows,

acquainted with deepest grief.

We turned our back on him

and looked the other way.

He was despised, and we did not care."

Isaiah 53:1-3 NLT

He didn't seem to amount to much, the son of a blue-collar working stiff from the wrong side of the tracks.  He had the kind of face only a mother could love and dressed in the most ordinary way.  Nothing about Him stood out, turned heads, or caught the eye.  He was not the kind you'd think of as a mover and shaker, a revolutionary, a Savior.

In order to see Jesus' true worth and power, to understand His purpose and mission, He must be seen with spiritual eyes, not in the way the world sees Him.  When I do, my whole perspective will change.

Beauty.  I was desperately lost.  I had foolishly led my pre-teen daughter, mother and dog out into the woods a few hours before sunset that crisp, autumn day with the intention of giving them a feel for the property my husband and I were considering as the perfect place to build a home.  As we followed a deer trail on the ten-acre parcel, I soon became disoriented and couldn't tell from which direction we came.  When we stumbled out into a unfamiliar clearing  and saw 200 acres of pasture open up beyond a barbed wire fence, I knew we were hopelessly lost.  Where on earth are we?  After stopping to pray for help, we decided to make our way toward a distant farmhouse.  When we finally knocked on the door as the sun began to set and darkness crept over the land, the stranger who responded was the most beautiful person I had ever seen.  Was she a supermodel-type with flawless skin and impeccable taste in clothing?  No.  She was just an elderly farmer's wife, but she had the information we needed to save us from our desperate state;  she knew where to find our vehicle.  With her guidance, we were soon back to our car and safely on our way back home.

Similarly, when I realize how desperate is my spiritual state, how far short from God's perfect standard are my efforts to live a good life, I know I need help (Romans 3:23).  Even worse, when I comprehend how incapable I am from saving myself from the punishment my aforementioned sins deserve and discover that the sentence for a criminal like me is eternal separation from the goodness of God and condemnation for all of eternity, I suddenly know my need for a Savior (Romans 6:23, Psalm 103:10).  As Jesus Christ emerges as the only One who can save me from the penalty my sins have earned, He suddenly is transformed from an ugly, ordinary man of no remarkable accomplishments to the most beautiful man I've ever seen (John 3:16-18).  To those who are being saved He is the Wonderful Savior who is worthy to be praised (Revelation 5:12, 1 Peter 2:9)!

When I look at Jesus through the spiritual eyes of one who is being saved, I find Him to be breathtakingly beautiful.

Power.  One of my favorite parts of being an Army wife was when our family was able to watch the demonstrations of military operations.  We would stand out on the edge of a drop zone, sheltered from the blazing-hot North Carolina sun by a stand of long-leaf pine and see amazing sights.  Cargo jets would fly low, dropping large equipment like tanks onto the field in front of us.  C-141s then filed by, depositing hundreds of paratroopers in the air, filling the sky with olive-colored parachutes.  Suddenly the most exciting part that sent a thrill down my spine came without warning; the fighter jets roared past, approaching from behind in a surprise mock attack that drew the attention of the crowd to the sky directly above us.  Those engines generated enough power to propel the jets faster than the speed of sound and caused all to instinctively cover their ears.  They were definitely the highlight of the show.

The power of Jesus is so much more awesome than those F-16s.  In fact, He has the power to transform lives from the mundane to the purposeful, to set free those held captive by their own sin, and to rescue mankind destined for eternal damnation (Isaiah 61:1-3).  Only Jesus broke the bond that sin holds over each and every human, and only Jesus triumphed over death (1 Corinthians 15:57).  Through repentance and faith in Jesus, I no longer face an eternity of suffering and the fear of death is gone.  Through Jesus, I've been given the power of hope (1 Peter 1:3-4).

When I look at Jesus through the spiritual eyes of one who is being saved, I discover His mighty power.

Majesty.  The mountain is breathtakingly beautiful in its majesty.  It rules over the entire Puget Sound area and is a familiar landmark for anyone visiting the Seattle area.  The snowy peaks of Mt Rainier are magnificent in their splendor and all who see it are amazed at the sight of her stately reign as she looms 14,409 feet above sea level.

As awesome as that splendorous peak is, nothing can compare to the majesty of the King of all kings.  His name is above all names.  In fact Jesus Christ is the only name by which man can be saved (Philippians 2:9, Acts 4:12).  He holds all things in creation together and is Himself the cornerstone of the church that is made up of those who trust in Him (Colossians 1:17, Ephesians 2:20).  Without Him, there is no life at all (John 1:3-4).  This is the true majesty of Jesus.  

When I look at Jesus through the spiritual eyes of one who is being saved, I revere Him as One who sits at the right hand of His Father in all majesty (Colossians 3:1).

Jesus is often dismissed as one who made no real impact in the world, disregarded as a no-account teacher from Galilee who never amounted to much.  According to popular opinion, He perhaps taught some good lessons and set a great example of how to live, but he can easily be dismissed as one who is worthless in the scheme of things.  When I look at Jesus through spiritual eyes, however, I find a beauty beyond compare, a power that cannot be fathomed, and a majesty that is both breathtaking and impossible to ignore.  Those who have eyes, let them see Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can drop the pretenses and look at Jesus from a new perspective.

When do I dismiss Jesus as just another teacher?

How do I disregard His power to change my circumstances for the better?