Looking At Life Through Heavens Eyes

(Wrote this article for the Abide Daily Blog, wanted to repost it here because I genuinely believe what I wrote should continue to be shared. Original article can be found here.)

In 1998, Dreamworks produced and released the movie, Prince of Egypt. This movie was inspired by the liberating story of God working through Moses to rescue the Hebrews from the enslavement of Egypt, historically recorded in the book of Exodus. On its opening weekend, it made over $14,000,000—worldwide, it has made more than $218,000,000 since then.

My favorite song in this movie is the song titled, “Through Heaven's Eyes.”

Aside from being a picture of what I wish church could be like every day, this song has a beautiful message. We should not place our value on what we see through our eyes or the eyes of mankind. Our value, our place in this world, our purpose, should be seen through the eyes of heaven. To be honest, I have struggled with looking at my own life and placing my value on what can be seen through “the eyes of man.” As someone who has grown up being surrounded by and raised in megachurches and having ambitions and passions to teach people of all ages, but especially students, to live out the gospel I have struggled with comparing myself to the grandeur and attractiveness that can come with the megachurch culture.

YOUR DREAM IS YOUR DOWNFALL

I do not believe I am the only one who struggles with comparing their worth through the lens of the world. I believe, in some way, we are all looking at our life through the eyes of man. We look at our life through the eyes of man when we base our value on what we can build or buy or when our value is based on having the dream family, the dream job, the “American Dream” as it were. Placing our value on our grades, performance in sports or other extracurricular activities.

When we start becoming disappointed to the point of frustration, when our expectations of these values fail, we reveal whose eyes we are looking at our life through. The more we place our value and judge our worth based on the things here on earth, we are setting ourselves up for failure.  Material things will always fail us; human expectations will always fail us because we have an inherently selfish nature. Our selfish nature will systematically drag us down because of sin.

It is the plot of the enemy to keep you evaluating your life based on human standards because he knows it will make you feel incomplete, yet still searching as if the results will change. When you are basing your life on human standards, this insures the enemy that you are not a threat to the kingdom of darkness. Because what the enemy does not want you to do is to start seeing your life through heaven's eyes, to realize what you are capable of.

Let’s take a look at what Jesus says we will see when we look at our life through heaven’s eyes.

THE KINGDOM OF GOD’S TRUE LOCATION

“One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Jesus replied, ‘The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you. ‘”-Luke 17:20-21 (NLT)

What Jesus is referring to here is that not only was the kingdom of God standing in front of them (Jesus), but also what would be revealed later is that the kingdom of God is within those who are believers. Within you, a Christian, is the kingdom of God, ready to be unleashed on to the world! Is that not incredible?! The infinite power of God, the radical love and servitude that can change the world, exists within each believer. Together, we form the Church, the bride of Christ. The Kingdom of God does not exist within just one person, or just a small group of people, but within all believers and we have the power to make a difference, to radically change the world with the love of God!

But my question is, do we see our lives that way? Do we look at our lives through heaven’s eyes? Because if we did, we would not see our place in this world as being limited to a career or a location or a reputation. We would never be satisfied as a Church, we would always be seeking to reach those and love those who do not know Love himself, Jesus.

HOW TO LOOK AT YOUR LIFE THROUGH HEAVEN’S EYES

• Abide Daily: I want to challenge you to be in God's Word every day. The more you are in God’s Word, memorizing His truths to you, the more you can begin to see your life from His perspective. Rather than narrowing your personal dreams, let your dreams stem from God’s dreams for the world. Your dreams are small in comparison to what God actually wants to do through you. God wants to change the world through you and set generations up for success through you.

• Pray Daily: The more we talk to God, give Him honor and praise, the more we are attuning our heart with His. The closer we draw near to Him, the closer He draws near to us (James 4:8). God has a divine perspective over your life, He will constantly remind you of it if you know how to hear His voice and listen to what He says to you.

Imagine what our world would look like if we understood that we need to look at our life through heaven’s eyes. I believe we would have a church filled with unprecedented joy and radical love for our community, because we understand the mission Jesus calls us to fulfill, to be the church, to be the light of the world. God has called us to so much more. We are capable of doing so much more. Maybe we just need to start looking at our life through heaven’s eyes.