A New Way of Seeing

Spring is on it's way!  The fresh air has arrived, the snow is melting, and all that was brown and dreary is springing to new life.  

These spring months are invigorating for the large majority of people (with the exception of the few Wisconsinites who actually like winter...), and it is so refreshing to spend time outdoors as the seasons change.  Every living being feels hope of the coming months as the grass greens, the flowers bud, and new life springs up all around us.  It is impossible to avoid the anticipation of the warmth that is coming.  

But as we are captivated by the new life springing up all around us, it can be easy to miss the potential in the lives of those we encounter every day.  We are called as Christians to go out and make disciples in the name of Jesus, and often times we get distracted by our lives, we get dissuaded by our fears, or we get disillusioned about the people we are called to be sharing the gospel with.  

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 says:  "Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh.  Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."  

When Jesus walked this earth, most of the people he encountered thought of Him only in human form, because that is all they knew Him as.  Guess what?  They got it all wrong.  We definitely do not look at Jesus as just a man anymore.  He has overcome death and the grave and rose to give us glorious new life!  

These verses tell us that because we got it wrong with Jesus, we need to be careful to look at others around us as though they have no hope and will never change.  We can look inside and realize that every person is offered a fresh start through Jesus Christ!  

Can I challenge you today?  Can I challenge you to step out of your default thought process and look at the people around you with fresh eyes?  If we take the expectation and anticipation we have for spring and direct it towards an expectation and anticipation of what God is going to do in the lives of those around us, truly powerful things can and will happen in our city, our state, and our nation.