What do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror? At your neighbor? At your boss?
More often than not when we look at those around us, we look through our own two selfish eyes; we view and judge people and their acts based off how they personally affect us. You see a guy in a nice sports car that just cut you off and think what a rich jerk who thinks his life and where he needs to go is more important than mine.
What do you think God sees when He looks at you? At your neighbor? At your boss?
What about that guy who cut you off? God saw a man who loves his wife so much and is rushing to the hospital to be with her before their baby is born, and even though he cut you off, He still loves him. Or what about that girl from high school who started that mean rumor about you? God loves her too.
God sees each of us through eyes of unconditional love, and He loves everyone—it doesn’t matter what they do, where they work, how much money they have, how educated they are or what they look like.
We need to do the same. We need to learn to see others as God sees them. And here’s how you can.
Study the life of Christ.
The best way to understand how to see as God sees is studying the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. He is our greatest example, and the only perfect example of how to live and see others as God does. He showed to charity to all men, and Elder Dale G. Renlund reminded us, “Only when we see through Heavenly Father’s eyes can we be filled with ‘the pure love of Christ.’” You can follow in Christ’s footsteps and show charity to all men by studying HIs life, teachings and testimonies in the scriptures.
Pray daily.
In your daily prayers, ask God to help you start seeing people as He sees them. Ask him to help you be more patient and loving with those around you. It’s a freeing feeling to take the focus off yourself and use God’s perspective to just see them and their situation rather than how it affects you.
Show more compassion.
Strive to be kinder, more loving and more forgiving. It’s easy to feel this way toward those you know and those who share the same traits and beliefs as you. But the second great commandment is to love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matthew 22:39); it doesn’t say to only love those who go to your same church or cheer on the same football team as you. Show compassion to everyone you meet.
Don’t focus on outward appearance.
The world focuses on things we can only physically see—what people wear, what ethnicity they are, how many worldly things they have, etc. In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord counsels Samuel to, “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” God focuses on the inward. He sees people’s hearts, and their heartaches and pains.
God looks for and sees the good in others. And what he sees, we must see also.
Follow Mormon Channel on Twitter to discover more ways to love your neighbor and see others through God’s eyes.