Dan Eakin/Baptist minister
No human being can see everything as God sees it.
Isaiah 55:8:9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
In some ways, it is best that we don’t know the future, as God may know it. If we knew exactly when and where we would die, we might be too upset to enjoy the present.
On the other hand, someone said that 80 percent of all the things we worry about never come to pass.
An old song says: “If we could see beyond today as God can see, if all the clouds would roll away, the shadows flee, our present griefs we would not fret, each sorrow we would soon forget, for many joys are waiting yet, for you and me.”
If we could see Heaven as God sees Heaven, we would be perhaps even too excited to get there. Maybe that is why God withholds all the truths about Heaven from us. But one verse does promise, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for those that love him.” I Corinthians 2:9
If we could see Hell, as God sees Hell, wouldn’t we have a greater compassion for lost souls? Wouldn’t we run not only to our friends and family members and seek to win them to Christ, or even to strangers.
There are many things that we can’t literally see with our physical eyes, but we can see them by faith. We can see them as we trust n the word of God. “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17. By faith we can visualize the beauties and glories of heaven, and the torments and horrors of hell.
Also, if we could see sin, as God sees sin, maybe we wouldn’t sin so much. One problem with mankind is that we don’t see the ugliness of our sins. We don’t see the far reaching effect that our sins have on ourselves, our loved ones and others. The Bible says that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children even unto the third and fourth generations. Exodus 20:5.
Also, if we could see righteousness as God sees righteousness, maybe we would work harder to be more righteous.
II Timothy 1:8: “When I call to remembrance the unfeigned (unfaked) faith which is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and in the mother Eunice, and am persuaded that in thee also.” Some say that because Paul called Timothy his own son in the faith (I Timothy 1:2), that meant Paul had won him to Christ. But instead, was it the influence of Timothy’s grandmother and mother that really brought Timothy to Christ?
There is a theory which may be a fact that there is a succession of believers. That means that everyone who believes in Christ does so because someone before them who believed in Christ told them about Christ. If you have never shared your faith in Christ with anyone, you have not done your part, and you put an end to that succession. If someone told you about Christ and led you to believe unto salvation, isn’t it your duty to tell someone else? Remember that old song, “You’ve got to pass it on.”
And finally, wouldn’t it be good, in some ways, if we could see ourselves, as God see us?
The old poem says, “Would to God the Giver would give us, to see ourselves as others see us.” (Robert Burns, paraphrased). What about, “Would to God, the Giver would give us, to see ourselves as God sees us?”
There are some ways in which we can be proud. We are royalty. If we are the children of the King of Kings and of the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, that makes us royalty. We can be glad. That should give us boldness. But we must realize that this standing as a child of the King is only by God’s grace, and not by any good that we have done or can do.
The Bible warns us to not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. “Pride goeth before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18). “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased, but he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Luke 14:11.
Jesus set the greatest example of humility of anyone who ever lived.
Philippians 2:8-ll: being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, of things in earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”