Scripture
27Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 28So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. Luke 5:27-28
Observation
Jesus was always seeing what everyone else was missing. In this one chapter Jesus shows us the difference between looking and seeing. Jesus looked past the frustrated fishermen forgotten by the world and saw instead fishers of men that would change the world. Jesus looked past the advanced case of leprosy and all the laws that told him to keep his distance and saw instead a son of God made whole. Jesus looked past the property destruction and interruption of His sermon and “Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” (Lk. 5:20). Jesus looked past the cultural resentment and the Roman oppression that hung around a tax collectors neck like a hangman’s noose and saw a disciple who would spend the rest of his life giving to those he stole from.
Application
Jesus has eyes that can look past the facade, past the wound, past the sickness, past the sin, past the reputation, past the layers and layers of false identity to see who we are truly meant to be. I want to stop looking and start seeing. The technical difference between the two is defined this way: “‘Looking’ is turning one’s eyes to a certain object while ‘seeing’ is the perception of an object or how a person determines what he is looking at.” Jesus is calling us to be perceivers, to look beyond the natural and see what’s going on in the spiritual agenda of God for that person or situation. I was listening to a podcast where Christine Caine, an Australian activist, evangelist, author, and international speaker talked about the moment God opened her eyes to the horrors of human trafficking. She was in Greece and saw notices about many women and children who had gone missing. She found out they had been stolen and lost to the sex slave trade. She thought slavery was over and was horrified to find that it was worse than ever. She looked back at those pictures of children and saw her own child. Then, she made this statement that hit me hard. Christine said, “When you look you can look away. But, when you see that becomes all you can see.” Caine had just had her second child and didn’t know anything about sex trafficking but she knew she couldn’t look away. So she and her husband Nick founded The A21 Campaign in 2008, a 501 non-profit, non-governmental organization that combats human trafficking. There are more people enslaved today than any other time in history, but they are doing something about it. Last year alone 241, 966 minors were reached with prevention, 3.6 million made aware of human trafficking, 587 victims identified and assisted. Much of this was helped through the appropriately named "Can You See Me" campaign. When one person moves from looking to seeing it starts to open the eyes of those around them.
Prayer
My prayer is that You would open my eyes. Help me to see what You’re seeing so I can do what You’re doing. I want to see past all of the distractions and defenses and see the person You see. I’ve spent too much of my time looking away. Sometimes I let my weariness determine what I see, or my frustration becomes a lens by which I judge, or my plans block me from saying Yes to what You’re actually doing. I’ve been missing so much because I’ve been so focused on myself and my preferences and held back by my excuses. Sometimes I’m so overwhelmed by the massive need my love becomes inaction and my inaction becomes indifference. I pray for Your eyes Lord. I look to You so I will see what You see.
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