New levels?

Have you ever seen somebody in a different light before? You know, like, you know somebody, but you see them one day in a different way? For example, you talk to an acquaintance or person you know whom you don't particularly like for whatever reason, and during a conversation or as a result of the Lord opening your eyes, you see deeper into the person they were created. You realize that this person of whom you just had a brief glimpse, is a taste of the person that God sees--the person He sees when He looks at him/her, when He looks at you.

Usually an overwhelming warming of the heart occurs as the love of God fills you supernaturally for that person--that friend or that enemy. Perhaps for the first time, or the first time in a while, you remember that Christ calls us to see people, to judge righteous judgment. And that, if people only saw our own superficiality and faults, if God had only seen those things, we would be lonely and lost, and eventually, dead.

Often, it's in the eyes. Though not always. But whatever it is, at its root, I think it is a glimpse into the humanity of that person, a glimpse into the being of somebody. I saw it today. And I was overwhelmed, overpowered, by the presence of God's Spirit living in me beckoning, pleading, causing me to respond with love. I couldn't help it.

I believe it is the Spirit that allows us to see into people this way. To cut to the heart, literally. And to love that heart. I would never be able to love people in an unconditional way on my own. My love is selfish. God's love is not just unselfish, it is unconditional, tender, and tough. And since He lives in me, He can fill and lead me to walk in and experience His love for others, and to make it part of my love. It is my love. It is God's love. Because without Him I am not. He has made the "me" that I am.