open eyes

I remember being at a church-building conference years ago where someone asked the key presenter, “What do you pray for?” His answer: “I pray to see the world as God sees it.”

I thought of that this morning as I read the story of Elisha, especially the part where Israel’s enemy, the king of Aram, sent an arm to arrest him. Elisha’s servant, looking through human eyes, saw doom. But then, “Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17)

The story gets better, though. Elisha asks God to blind the Aramean army, and then leads them into Jerusalem. That time when Elisha prays for open eyes, his enemies suddenly can see that they’re helpless in the middle of the Israelite capital.

If God’s people could see as God does, instead of a scary, threatening world they would see protection and providence all around them. They would see lost sheep in need of a savior instead of “Walmart people” and “losers” and all the other names we call each other. They would see not political infighting or geopolitical strife but Satan’s centuries-old battle to steal souls from Jesus, and would realize that the so-called other side are people just like us who were lied to by Satan.

If unbelievers could see as God does, they’d realize that they’re not really winning. They would see that they don’t have God on the run, they haven’t pushed him out of public life, he isn’t dead or powerless or irrelevant. They would see instead that he has graciously delayed the day of his coming, the day of judgment, just to give them more time.

If I could see the world as God does, I would condemn less and love more. I’d worry less and trust more. I’d be angry less and be more broken-hearted. And I’d want nothing more than to help those others I’m so quick to scorn.