The look of Jesus in the gospels
changed people's hearts.
If Jesus were to walk our world today
what would He look at first?
I wonder if the first to attract His notice
would be any overwhelming goodness.
Good-hearted people can see goodness everywhere,
evil-hearted people see evil,
we truly see in others
a reflection of ourselves.
Jesus unearths and uncovers
the love, honesty, and goodness
hiding in each person
who attracts His look.
He looks at the prostitute,
and I try to look at here like He does
to discover what He sees in her.
I watch Him look at the despised tax-collector
at the adulterous woman...
at the criminal on the cross beside Him...
I am trying to learn the art of looking.
When Jesus looks where I see malice
He sees ignorance.
At the moment of His own death
I watch Him lower his gaze to His false convictors
beyond their malice,
and He says, "Forgive them, they don't know what they're doing"
What can I learn about the art of looking?
When I walk about my day
and meet a stranger
or walk into a group,
how much goodness can I see
in each person?
I imagine Jesus beside me
teaching me to look in new ways,
to make allowance,
to search for ignorance,
and find good.
Then I expose myself
to the loving look of Jesus.
When my heart looks into the eyes of Jesus,
I am in awe of the goodness He detects in me.
I am quicker to blame myself
for ALL the wrong I do and have done
He stubbornly refuses to condemn me.
I cannot handle it, at first
It is too forgiving
and in my self-hatred, I cannot see
what His loving look sees.
But I am aware I must sustain His look
if I really want to learn to look at others
the way He looks at me.