Do you see what I see?
A man staggers down the street
Tattered clothes that smell offensive, no shoes on his feet.
He passes unseen enemies given life through the alcohol running through his veins
And looks up with bloodshot eyes. Cursing the skies. His anger plain
to see.
Do you see what I see?
How have you judged this man?
Have you seen that he is equally a part of my plan?
What do you see when you look upon the broken, lost poor – the captive?
How do you respond to those mourning, hungry – to the addict?
Do you see oaks of righteousness spreading their branches, his potential?
Do you see a brokenhearted individual?
Do you see a child who lives in darkness unable to fathom
That he is loved, he matters, that as the father of the Prodigal Son, I wait for him to return to me with enthusiasm?
Or do you believe that he is beyond my love – forever at the other side of sin’s chasm?
I do not ask you in sarcasm. I ask you to be truthful
Are you reaching out to the unlovable?
Do you see what I see?
A mother loses patience with her small toddler child,
He runs about, undisciplined and wild.
She lives without a partner to share the joy and the burden,
A one-night stand, forever changed her plans. Struggle now her portion.
The child grows up without father or family,
Both cast out when they learned of his reality
He has no one but his mother, there is no other. But she lives in delicate fragility.
Do you see what I see?
Do you look upon this boy and label him unruly?
Secretly glad that you get to leave and your day is not disturbed unduly?
What do you see when you look upon the widow, the orphans, those in distress?
How do you respond – is it a good witness
Of my love?
Do you see the broken as pieces that fit perfectly as the ruins are re-erected?
The building blocks of a community that loves because in the fires of loneliness they have been perfected?
Do you see a woman who gave up everything for her child?
Do you see a reflection of the sacrifice that was made so that you, with me, could be reconciled?
Or do you see a wasted life, put blame on her for her choice?
Using your words to berate and ignore, not to give her a voice?
Is she a project that will ask too much of your energy and time,
for you to be her spine
so that she can once again stand tall.
Do you lose commitment when the payoff is not instant and so choose instead to stonewall?
Do you see what I see?
A father holds his child close, surrounded by dark waves – there is no lifejacket for them
He is surrounded by people there because he paid them with money he does not own, and entered into a den
Of lions;
of compliance
and shady interactions where life has little value.
He knows he is putting his daughter’s life at risk, but what else can he do?
He dreams of a better life, where his child’s plate won’t be empty
Where he can find work, even if it is illegally. A future to be lived in the shadows, secretly.
Do you see what I see?
A shepherd stranger who will look after My flock?
A daughter who knows the depth of her father’s love?
A daughter, who through adversity, knows the truth of being set free.
Who, after staring death in the face, will enjoy my creation with an unadulterated glee
Their journey over the ocean in a small boat, not fit for purpose
Is a picture of strength overcoming weakness;
of a father so desperate to find a way to save
His child,
He risked the grave and chose to be exiled.
Do you see what I see?
Or do you see a man who puts his need of money before his daughter?
Who would willing risk her life by taking her out beyond the breakwater?
Someone who sees a better life and is filled with jealousy,
A man who wants more things, more money,
and lives selfishly?
Do you see him as a threat because he might look a certain way?
Do you see him as another freeloader that is demanding you pay
For him.
Without acknowledging that truthfully
I want you to welcome this man in unity
To dive in. And swim.
With him.
For when you do this for the least of my people, you do it for me
When you loose the chains of injustice and set the oppressed free
For I the Lord love justice and hate robbery and wrongdoing
It is love and justice you should be pursuing.
You take the treasure I have entrusted to you and given
Invested and put to work, my love cannot be hidden
Oh good and faithful servant you are able to do much with my provision
For in me you have comfort to give for all who mourn,
A crown of beauty for their heads, to adorn
You have the oil of my joy with which to anoint
Claothed in praise you are free from despair and disappoint-ment
No need to come to your father by appointment
I am here always, the curtain was torn in two
Wherever you go, whatever you do. I go too.
You need not worry how you will do these things, simply listen to me and I will be your guide
Always by your side,
these forgotten people are the jewels with which I will adorn my Bride
I will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land, and strengthen your frame
You will be like a spring of righteous water that will never fail.
How your joy will overflow
When you see people released from chains
Excused of blame,
Set free from all shame
When you see the dead coming back to life
When you see families restored, reunited man and wife
When you see the broken, hopeless, those lost at sea
Walk in truth, a prisoner set free
Then, you will know the love I have for you
Then you will fully realise My truth
When you look at others without judgment but compassionately
When you see what I see.
godshandreaching 