WHAT DO YOU SEE?

So, a few days ago, I'm in Sitka, Alaska. We're on a pier and we walked by a fish cleaning station.A man is cleaning a halibut and simultaneously I hear voices around me, "Ewwww! That is so gross! That stinks!" The man is gingerly sliding his sharp knife between the skin and the delicate flesh of the halibut. Me? I'm thinking, "Wow! Wonder how he caught that? Just imagine a fresh halibut steak on the grill!"

It reminded me of this truth: what you see depends on who you are.

In John 4, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well. While the disciples go into town food, Jesus does some fishing. The woman is flabbergasted, "How does he know so much about me?" Meanwhile, the disciples get back from town with lunch:

"Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?”" (John 4:27)

It's obvious they don't see what Jesus sees: a woman who is thirsty for something other than water. What do they see? A Jewish holy man talking to a Samaritan woman--something that wasn't cool. He corrects their vision:

"Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest." (John 4:35, emphasis added). 

So what will you see today? 

• A frustrated, unpleasant waiter? Or someone who's really thirsty for living water?
• One more person in your overcrowded office? Or someone you can love and show a kind welcome to?
• Will you focus on those missing from your group Bible study or small group? Or the ones who showed up?
• A rowdy teenager in McDonalds? Or maybe a kid from a broken home who needs some tenderness or silent prayer?
• Another mess your children made? Or a moment, a memory, of childhood that is quickly passing? 

What do you see? It all depends...