Sometimes, I try really hard to see the world through the eyes of Jesus. When we're young, we fail to see the way the world really works, so it is easier to give unconditional love. A child's heart and eyes are filled with innocence and purity. I think Jesus looks at us, with that same purity. Can we ever achieve that same love? Unconditional love is hard to give. It seems that we tend to expect things in return, when we give our love, but when we pray, we reach a different level in which we can show love more easily. We will be able to see the world as Jesus sees it. Jesus loves this earth and all of its inhabitants. After all, He walked as one of us for thirty-three years. He is able to see the  goodness that lives inside each of us.

The love of Jesus is the greatest love that a person upon this earth has ever been given. There has never been one greater, nor will there ever be. Why was He able to love us so unconditionally? When you study the Bible, you realize how much time He spent in prayer with His Father. He prayed before he spoke to crowds, or healed the sick. He would go off by Himself and spend many hours in prayer. I sometimes feel ashamed at the amount of time I spend in prayer compared to the time He spent praying. Prayer softens our hearts and lets us see the love of Jesus more clearly.

The more time we spend in prayer, the more we will be able to see the world through our Savior's eyes. When we are in a prayerful state of mind, His words nd His love will be able to shine through. We can love one another, as Jesus commanded us to do.  Loving some people is easy, while it is more difficult to love others. We all know that some people are hard to love. I'm sure that Jesus encountered this, as He met the throngs of people. But the difference is, He was able to look beyond their sins and see the love hidden in their hearts.

Loving only the loveable, isn't an option. Matthew 5:43,44&46a, Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy; But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that which despitefully use you, and persecute you. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Through prayer, God gives us the mercy to love our enemies, even if we can't do it on our own. Jesus' last words on earth were for those that crucified Him. Pray for the ability to love those that we would consider unlovable. God will give us the same love and compassion that He gave to His Son, Jesus Christ. He will mellow our hearts and allow us to look deeply into the hearts of others.

I remember smiling at a woman at town one day. Her face lit up and the smile she retuned warmed my heart. Maybe she needed that smile, or maybe I was the one that needed it. Either way, we made a spiritual connection, I could see the love of my Blessed Savior in her eyes.

As we look through our Savior's eyes, we are able to love those around us with a pure love, tendered with wisdom, and cured with mercy.

Copyright 2005 by Joyce Balentine