Godly Vision

Matthew reports that “Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented” (Mt 11:20). No doubt in later years, the people of those towns told stories of the itinerant preacher who passed through and healed their sick, but when Jesus was with them, they did not seem to appreciate his words and his marvelous deeds. His gifts of compassion and wisdom did not change their lives.

It is human nature to have keener hindsight than sight in the present moment. As Jacob said, “The Lord was here and I did not know it!” (Genesis 28:16). Truly, we can echo his cry every day as we look back at the kindnesses that have been visited upon us. The scriptures tell us that “God is lasting love” (Psalm 136) and “God’s mercy endures forever” (Jeremiah 33:11), so we should expect to see God acting in our lives. We need to train ourselves to be aware of that love and mercy in the moment so it can infuse our lives with gratitude and help us to live in right relationship with others and the earth.

Let’s learn from our ancestor Jacob’s experience so we instead can say, “The Lord is here, and my heart is filled with awe and joy in the presence of God, my savior!”