Orange Moon "His Focus, Our Focus"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe… 

 

"His Focus, Our Focus"

 

    Just as we cannot presently see our Lord, we cannot see the innermost being of other human beings.  The Apostle Paul realized this about himself, and determined to view people in spiritual rather than fleshly terms.

 

    "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh, yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more" (II Corinthians 5:16).

 

    What does it mean to "know no man after the flesh?"  Primarily, Paul meant he would attempt to see people as God sees them, or rather, as our Lord describes the being and existence of human beings in His Word.  This involves many aspects of truth as declared by Scripture, beginning in Genesis with the Divine origin of humanity, and concluding in Revelation with the eternally joyous or sorrowful destiny of every person.  Between the pages of the first and last books of the Bible, we learn much about who and what we are according to God's eternal purposes and our response (or non-reponse) to Him.  The subject is vast, and only knowing God Himself supersedes the importance of knowing ourselves and our fellow human beings.  

 

    "What is man, that Thou shouldest magnify him?  And that thou shouldest set Thine heart upon him?" (Job 7:17).

    In the hour of his dark trial, Job asked questions inspired by the Holy Spirit that shine great light on how God views the human race.  We are magnified in His sight, and His heart is set upon us.  Despite our native slavery to sin before Christ, and our imperfect walk with God after we trust the Savior, we all have a place in His eyes and His heart.  "Thou, God, seest me… The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations" (Genesis 16:13; Psalm 33:11).  Clearly, people matter to the Lord in far greater measure than we begin to know.  He looks upon us with magnified vision because He sees us in accordance with His merciful heart.

 

    The simple remembrance of this truth cannot fail to change how we view other people, and ourselves.  Seeing humanity through the lens of God's eyes and the love of His heart prepares us to relate to others in ways we could never otherwise devise or perform.  This constitutes a primary reason we keep our hearts close to the hearth of God's Word. Its light reveals the truth about Himself and people, and its warmth motivates our hearts to love as we are loved.  We cannot fail to see the flesh of others and ourselves.  Like Paul so long ago, however, we can determine to fix our focus on people in accordance with the focus of God.  A different path of relating to both believer and unbeliever will lie before us as we join our Heavenly Father in His magnified and merciful gaze upon the heart…

 

"The Lord looketh on the heart."

(I Samuel 16:7)

 

Weekly Memory Verse

    The Lord looketh on the heart.

(I Samuel 16:7)

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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