One morning, I was pondering on where I should look in the scriptures for inspiration. So, I opened the Bible to Matthew chapter 13. Once there, I read the parable of the sower and Jesus Christ’s explanation of why he taught in parables. Finally in verse 16 it says “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears for they hear.” I asked myself, “See what? Hear what?”. Looking for more, I opened the church’s home page online. Jumping off the screen as soon as it loaded was a picture with the caption, “Pray for Eyes to See as He Sees” which lead to this video Pray For Eyes to See as He Sees.
A certain man
Are our eyes open? How do we see our brothers and sisters around us? How does God see us? In Luke 10:30-33 we read:
“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,”
Who do we represent in the parable above? The priest? The Levite? Or, the Samaritan? Most likely at different points in our lives, we have been all three.
Seeing things clearly
In “Eyes to See” Sister Michelle D. Craig taught:
“As I pray for the Lord to open my eyes to see things I might not normally see, I often ask myself two questions and pay attention to the impressions that come: “What am I doing that I should stop doing?” and “What am I not doing that I should start doing?”
“Months ago, during the sacrament, I asked myself these questions and was surprised by the impression that came. “Stop looking at your phone when you are waiting in lines.” Looking at my phone in lines had become almost automatic; I found it a good time to multitask, catch up on email, look at headlines, or scroll through a social media feed.
A long line
“The next morning, I found myself waiting in a long line at the store. I pulled out my phone and then remembered the impression I had received. I put my phone away and looked around. I saw an elderly gentleman in line ahead of me. His cart was empty except for a few cans of cat food. I felt a little awkward but said something really clever like, “I can see you have a cat.” He said that a storm was coming, and he did not want to be caught without cat food. We visited briefly, and then he turned to me and said, “You know, I haven’t told anyone this, but today is my birthday.” My heart melted. I wished him a happy birthday and offered a silent prayer of thanks that I had not been on my phone and missed an opportunity to truly see and connect with another person who needed it.”
“With all my heart I do not want to be like the priest or the Levite on the road to Jericho—one who looks and passes by. But too often I think I am.”
This message brought tears to my eyes, and direction for my day. May we see others as God sees them. Let’s keep our eyes open today!
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