Our Higher Ground
Learning To See People Through The Heart Of God
“From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view…”
2 Corinthians 5:16
One of the hardest things to do is to stop seeing people only through the lens of their failures, wounds, history, or behavior.
We naturally see what is visible.
The sharp words.
The weakness.
The immaturity.
The places where someone has fallen short.
And if we are not careful, people slowly become reduced to the worst thing we know about them.
Paul says something completely different:
“From now on, we regard no one from a human point of view.”
That is higher ground.
Seeing What Grace Sees
In Christ, we are no longer merely who we were apart from Him.
We are new creations.
Not improved versions of the old life, but people being restored into the image of Jesus Himself.
That changes the way we begin seeing one another.
Instead of only seeing the struggle, we begin seeing the beloved son or daughter underneath it. Instead of responding merely to behavior, we begin remembering that Christ is still at work within people, even when the process feels unfinished.
Grace sees further than failure.
Living From A Different Reality
Our common ground is our shared human experience with all its weakness, disappointment, and pain.
But our higher ground is Christ.
It is the reality that His life now lives within us and that eternity has already begun unfolding in the hearts of His people.
When we live from that reality, relationships begin changing.
Mercy becomes easier.
Patience grows deeper.
Hope becomes harder to lose.
Love reigns.
Because we stop relating to people only according to their past and begin seeing them through the love of the Father.
The Way Love Sees
I think one of the greatest gifts God gives us is the ability to look at another person and quietly recognize:
You are more than the worst moment of your story.
You are someone deeply loved by God.
And the more we begin seeing people that way, the harder it becomes to reduce them to their failures.
Because love always sees further than failure.
Reflection
Who have I been viewing mostly through their failures or weaknesses?
How would my relationships change if I saw people through the Father's love?
Where might God be inviting me onto higher ground in the way I see others?
Prayer