I’ve had a crazy busy week, so I thought I’d offer something from my archives to you today. This is one of my first writing attempts from 2003. I have edited it pretty significantly from the original piece I hope it speaks into your heart.
1 Corinthians 13:12 says “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
As long as we live on this earth, we cannot have perfect knowledge of the plan and purposes of God in our lives. Only when we step across that heavenly threshold will we fully know the story of our lives. We can, however, have the ability to see our earthly circumstances from God’s perspective. We can have “Kingdom eyes” if we allow God to adjust our vision with “spiritual spectacles”.
When we have kingdom eyes, circumstances may not always be what they seem. I’m reminded of a story that will illustrate what I mean. “The Bahamas were liberated from Spanish control largely through the efforts of a lieutenant colonel from South Carolina named Andrew Deveaux. Spanish troops watched boatload after boatload of troops being ferried to shore from Deveaux’s ships. Frightened by such a large army, they surrendered and left. What they didn’t know: on the return trip, Deveaux’s men lay flat in the bottom of the boats and were rowed back to the ship, to return again standing up as, apparently, a fresh band of troops. Again and again.” (source unknown)
Let’s look for a moment at one example of someone who had kingdom eyes. In Numbers 13, we find God instructing Moses to send out scouts or spies to look over the Promised Land and bring back a report on how it looked. God had already promised this land to Abraham and the Israelites, and now it was Moses’ job to advance the people toward the land. Moses chose 12 men, one from each tribe. The person chosen from the tribe of Judah was named Caleb. I don’t believe that it is coincidence that Caleb came from the same tribe that would ultimately produce our Lord—kingdom eyes seem to run in the family.
Moses sent these 12 to scout out the land. They were instructed to examine the land, it’s people and it’s produce, and to bring back some of the fruit of the land. When they returned all twelve men intially gave the same glowing report—the land is wonderful. The second part of the report, however, was not so great. The people living in the land were giant and powerful. The cities were fortified with large walls.
Stay with me, this is where kingdom eyes become very important. Verse 30 of Numbers 13 says,
‘Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”’
At this point, the other eleven men likely looked at Caleb and said something like, “Are you crazy? Have you completely lost your mind? There is no way we can conquer that land. Forget it!!”
Had Caleb gone crazy? Why would he tell Moses and the people something so contrary to what seemed practical reasoning? No, Caleb had not lost it. He simply looked at the circumstance with his spiritual spectacles on and saw it through kingdom eyes. He knew that God had already promised the land to the Israelites and that God always keeps His promises. Caleb was looking at the victory that God had promised!!
MEDITATION MOMENT: Do you have kingdom eyes? When you view a situation, do you look at it with eternal perspective or with earthly perspective? Ask Jesus to help you see the world around you as He sees it….with Kingdom Eyes!
