Being seen changes everything. It can even change the way we see ourselves and as witnessed in the scripture above, it can change what we believe. When Jesus came, he was not concerned with his own agenda, only the Father’s (John 5:30). So he was able to encounter each person with pure motives. He approached them and interacted with them for their own good. Imagine that!
The Samaritan Woman- John 4- This account was life changing for the woman. The stricture says Jesus “needed” to go through Samaria. I believe it was to encounter this woman. The Father saw her and urged Jesus to travel there to let her know she was seen. Jesus asked her to go get her husband she said she had none and Jesus proceeded to tell her all about her life. He saw her, she felt seen. Maybe a little exposed, but nonetheless seen.
Had he seen all the men she had in her life and those who left her? It’s my belief, based on the culture of that day, that she was not a floozy in search of men, she was rejected and cast out by all of them. In those days men had the power of divorce and could do so if any small thing was not to their liking. Imagine. Jesus said you’ve had five husbands! Five times jilted and rejected.
Jesus saw her, acknowledged her current situation without condemnation and satiated her desire to be loved with Himself!
The woman caught in adultery- John 8- Jesus was teaching in the temple and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and set her in the midst of everyone. Talk about shame and humiliation. But still Jesus saw her, who she really was. We don’t know the circumstances of her adultery, but Jesus did. Although the Pharisees meant to bring her low into humiliation, Jesus brought her to a level place with everyone else there when he said, ““He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Can you see that?
It’s so beautiful. You can’t tell me that she did not walk away from that encounter with his love, healed! He’s such a wonderful Savior.
The Tax Collector & Pharisee- Luke 18:9-14 In this account, the Father justified the tax collector who humbled himself instead of the Pharisee who despised the tax collector because he was full of self-righteousness. But the Father saw the tax collector. He saw his brokenness over his sin as he cried out for the mercy of God. Such humility. That man went away justified before the Father.
We are seen and known by the Father, absolutely and completely. He calls us just as we are and yet, loves us deeply. When I realized that God really sees me, it transformed my entire life and all my relationships. He sees me. The good, the bad and the ugly and embraces all of me.
He IS the remedy to all that ails me. He IS the healing I need. He IS a just and righteous Father who knows and sees ALL of me and instead of condemning me, he sought to save me.
