All believers are children of God, and hence are to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1). Primarily, it’s about love. However, there is one more important aspect that we believers are to imitate. Jesus said, I do what I see father doing. (John 5:19). What Jesus would have imitated father doing when he was in earthly body? Let’s look at this verse.
Psalms 139:16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Psalmist here is telling a powerful thing about God. The first part of the verse says, “You saw me before I was born”. Research shows that – many women, when they are pregnant, are asked by doctors to keep photos of healthy and beautiful babies in their bedroom. And keep visualizing that similar babies are being grown up in their womb, imagine that they have given birth to a similar or same baby. This is how our creator God did while we were in him, before we actually were born. Second part the verse emphasizes it again, everything was recorded, that means a blueprint in the mind of God. So God wants us to imitate that as we are children of his.
Mark 8:22 And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought a blind man to Jesus and implored Him to touch him. 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I see them like trees, walking around.” 25 Then again He laid His hands on his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.
Our physical eyes and heart are meant to see the way God wants us to see, each of us. Otherwise, humankind won’t exist the way it is now. For the first time, when Jesus asked that blind man, after laying his hands on him, “do you see anything?” – the answer was, “I see men like trees walking around”. This is where the revelation is that Jesus doesn’t want any man to see what he has not created for, but he wants to see exactly what that is. Men and trees are two different things. Men were created in the image of God, spirit being in bodily form. But a tree is something else even though it’s the creation of God. That’s why Jesus again laid his hand on his eyes, and that man looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly.
Lord gives not just 50% or 90% healing but 100%. This event is not just about healing – but a message to believers – to see other men from the Spirit of God. God wants us to bring to the position until we haven’t seen the things he wants us to see 100% clearly, from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view(2 Corinthians 5:17).
Another, powerful message, we see in Jeremiah 1:11-12 which says, “The word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ And I said, ‘I see a rod of an almond tree.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.’”
Our Lord Jesus always asks us, “what do you see?” because he has been watching over his word to perform it. Isn’t it amazing? His words are for something to perform. In this context, a rod of an almond tree. He wants to see us as a branch of the living tree which is the vine tree – Jesus himself. When we see this way nothing can stop us from speaking the truth of God. When truth comes out of our mouth, the power of God gets manifested.
2 Peter 1:19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.
We are to look intently at each word of God as a lamp shining in a dark place from a distance until the day dawns and the morning star(Revelation 22:16), which is Christ himself arises in our heart.
So primarily, two powerful things that God wants us to see. “Morning star – Christ himself” and “men in the sight of God”. Therefore, in Matthew 22, Lord says, first love your God with all your being, and then love your neighbor (men). Gospel is all around these two truths.
When you see this way – none can stop you from seeing the blessing of God manifested in your life. You love Christ Jesus your savior – so you can do this by the Spirit of God.