“Repentance is more that turning from sin — it’s repositioning ourselves to look with Jesus. The Old Testament word for ‘repent’ (shub) means simply ‘turn.’ When you let your heart turn in the same direction as Jesus is facing, you’re repenting of your own view and taking His.”- Alan Wright
Alan Wright concludes Chapter 13 of Seeing as Jesus Sees with the story of Bob Edens. For fifty-one years, Bob lived without seeing. But, in middle age, a complicated surgery gave him sight. Not long after his miraculous surgery, Bob remarked:
“I can’t wait to get up each morning to see what I can see. I am still seeing most of it for the first time. . . . You could never know how wonderful everything is.”
Above all, Pastor Wright exhorts, it’s thrilling, marvelous, and life-changing to see as Jesus does. Consequently, we must learn to yield our minds to what our spirits see in Christ. And the first step involves remembering all you learned about the way Jesus sees you, others, and the world.
Furthermore, Alan underscores, walking beside Jesus rather than behind Him serves as part of the maturing process. It embraces the privilege of the heir. Because when you love Jesus, you want Him right next to you.
Most significantly, it’s nourishing to savor Jesus’ mercies as they come into view. Sometimes Jesus shows us:
- answers to confusing situations.
- how to love a difficult person.
- His defeat of the darkness.
- (oftentimes) the grandeur of His grace.
In conclusion, Pastor Wright urges us to savor the sweetness of new spiritual sights:
“Whatever you love most you devote yourself to — you practice, you sacrifice, you spend time, you love it. Keep practicing that simple, powerful prayer — Jesus, how do you see this? — and you’ll find yourself delighting to talk to Jesus throughout the day. Keep pausing, connecting, and looking — you are on your way to being an afficionado of the wonders Jesus promised you’d see.”
Today’s question: What most helps us in repositioning ourselves to look with Jesus? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Veils our spiritual sight”
