You are not alone. You are not in the dark. You are in the light. You are seen.
You can be in a crowd and still feel isolated. You can be among a group on an outing and still feel incredibly alone. Even in a family gathering, there can be the sense that you’re not recognised for who you are.
Loneliness and isolation are real conditions that people experience in society for a range of reasons. It can be so prevalent that some might accept it as the way life is and always will be. Other factors can accentuate this feeling – when you don’t speak the language, when you’re new to the area, when you have physical and mental disabilities, when you don’t have the qualifications, when you’re in the lower income groups, when your family has depended on handouts, when you’re classed as being among a group of people seen as disadvantaged and oppressed. Those circumstances make it easier to sink into obscurity and accept a position that will never see you ever truly seen for who you are.
Then consider the personality and character issues that can conspire to keep you in the shadows. Childhood traumas have made it difficult for you to come out of your shell. You’ve never felt comfortable with others and have built up coping mechanisms to keep people at arm’s length and be fiercely defensive to the point that it’s almost a badge of honour for your heart to be impregnable. In all of that, you hardly ever felt truly noticed, even by those you feel are close to you.
What if things could be different? What if there was a kind and inviting smile that allowed you to be truly relaxed? What if someone paid attention to you and made you feel respected and valued as you spent time in their company? What if someone wasn’t out to see you as a target or a mark? What if you were not there for someone to take advantage of you? What if someone wanted you to simply hear and experience what it is to be seen without judgment, but with an engaging invitation that sought to understand you properly first?
One of the amazing parts of Jesus' ministry was how those on the fringes of society accepted Him. He sought out people who were often overlooked and invested time in helping them feel seen. To be seen is about being respected without having to earn it because the initial perspective is being seen as a created being of worth and interest. To be seen is to be embraced in the sight of someone who takes delight in you because they care first and foremost, and are then keen to create the environment in a relationship where you can feel comfortable opening up.
It's remarkable that this is a part of the ministry of Jesus when people think about religion. Often, they think that it requires you to reach a certain moral standard before you are seen. The impression is given that you will only be seen if you wear the right clothes, say the right things and behave in the right way to fit with the cosy club of the upright. The reality is that Jesus did not expect that from people before He engaged with them. He didn’t expect people to be clean before they came to Him. He reached out to them, knowing full well that they were not clean, but the path to purity began with being seen for who you are. That reach was Jesus taking the initiative, knowing that He was sent to serve first. He was sent to search and look so that the lost could finally know they were seen.
Embracing the good news of Jesus Christ starts with the reality that, before anything else, Jesus sees you. What He sees does not disgust Him and draws Him away from you. What He sees only makes Him more desirous of reaching you and pointing to the next aspect that can break down barriers and build beneficial bridges of blessings …
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
Next Steps
Reflect: What does it mean to you to know that God sees you? How does that help you in your mission to encourage others that they can rest knowing that God sees them?
Pray: Father, when I was lost, you saw me and sought me. Thank you. When I was alone, you saw me and reached me. When I was isolated, you saw me and told me you’d never leave me or forsake me. Thank you so much for seeing me and not running from what you saw, but running to me. Help me to receive this precious mercy and extend it to others for Your Name’s sake.
Act: Look in a mirror, what do you see? What does God see? Over the coming week, pay more attention to what you observe about the different types of people you interact with or engage with – from a stranger to a loved one. Write a journal entry about what you see and what you believe God sees when He looks at these people. Share your findings with a friend, pray to commit those observations to God, and, where necessary, work with God to act on what He suggests. Also note responses to the question: what can the community of grace I belong to do to help others know that they are seen?
