What do you see when you look at someone?  I was told recently that one of the first things that people notice about you is your shoes.  Maybe, but I would think it might depend on what is important to you.

Of course, a shoe salesperson would probably notice our shoes.  But, a hair stylist would likely notice our hair.  An athlete would notice our muscles.  An optometrist would notice our glasses or contacts.  A clothing salesperson would notice our clothes.  A dental hygienist would notice our teeth.  A car dealer would notice our car.  A Realtor would notice our house.  You get the idea!

But there is more to what we see.  Men would notice particular characteristics about men, and different attributes about ladies.  Conversely, ladies would notice certain characteristics about ladies, and different qualities about men.  Our age could very likely cause us to notice unique characteristics in the people we see.  But is there still more?

I remember getting on an elevator at the hospital one day with a family member of someone having surgery.  After we exited, the family member told me that she was fascinated about how I stood in an elevator full of people.  Why?  Because she was in the elevator business!

In case you are wondering if I was standing on my head, I wasn’t.  But, I was standing facing the people in the elevator rather than facing the door!  I’m pretty sure I don’t normally do that, and that I had no particular reason to stand facing the people that day, it just turned out that way and I didn’t give it a thought.

This family member went on to say that I had validated the research of people in the elevator business.  They had found that only people from a handful of careers (preachers was one of them) would be comfortable facing people in the close confines of an elevator!  Accordingly, the inside of elevator doors should look as good as possible!

But we may be seeing just the tip of the iceberg of what and how we see!  Do you have eyes that see what Jesus saw?  Did Jesus notice what kind of sandals people wore?  Or, how they styled their hair?  Or, what kind of clothes they had on?  Or, how nice their teeth were?  Or, what breed of donkey they were riding?

I’ve noticed Jesus saw at least a couple of things that I often miss.  Jesus had eyes that saw when people were harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36).  Wow, what does that look like?  Would I even notice that if I was looking for it?

Jesus also had eyes to see faith (Mark 2:5).  We often think faith is an internal, invisible quality.  Yet when we read about the people in the “faith chapter” of the Bible, Hebrews 11, we see that their faith obeyed, offered, pleased, sacrificed, built, left, blessed, spoke, worked and so much more!  Their actions made their faith visible.  Do you see what Jesus sees?