Do you have a life-motto? Mine is: “Keep your eyes on Jesus, and when you have to look at others, see them through His eyes.”
It’s a reminder to live consciously, with eyes open to what God is doing, what God is showing me and teaching me, and what is happening beyond the view of what is visible in my world. It challenges me to look beyond the circumstantial evidence that can lead me astray into distrusting God’s word and methods. It takes me beyond my natural inclination to turn away from people I dislike.
Years ago, I had a friend who was an alcoholic. I tried every which way to guide him into recovery, but he joined Alcoholics Anonymous only to please me, not to change. As I struggled to remain available as a friend (not as an enabler), I begged God for help.
One morning in my prayer time, the Lord gave me an image of a large diamond. He pointed out that all of us are like diamonds because we were made in His image. The diamond was many-facetted, and as the light of Christ shined on it like sunbeams, each facet glittered with a different color. Each color came from the many facets of our personalities.
Then He showed me my friend’s diamond. It was covered with mud and muck. The beauty of it was hidden. The colorful facets were unable to shine. This, the Lord told me, is the muck of sin—the sins we commit and the mud thrown onto us by the sins that were inflicted upon us. The former is cleaned off by the Sacrament of Confession. The latter is cleaned off by therapeutic healing.
As I realized all of this, the Lord gave me the eyes to see my friend’s true self beyond the mud and muck. He gave me a supernatural love for my friend and an appreciation of the gem that He had created.
When we were baptized, we were given God’s very own nature. That includes the eyes of Christ so we can see what He sees. And the more open we are to it—i.e., the more consciously we are living by faith—the clearer our vision becomes. We see the truth as it really is. We see people for who they really are. We see what God is really like and how perfectly wonderful His radical love for us really is. And we see that our prayers are always answered, albeit (usually) not in the way we had hoped.
We see whatever Jesus wants us to see at the moment when He knows it’s good and helpful and love-producing for us to see it.
This is what it means to live consciously, fully awake to see what Jesus sees. To reach this level of faith, we have to first understand how we’ve been living half-asleep (and in some cases, fully asleep).
To live consciously means that we are no longer in auto-pilot mode. We no longer react to life’s circumstances without first praying about it.
To live consciously means we stop making assumptions. We pause long enough to analyze the conclusions we’re jumping to. We open ourselves to a new perspective that Jesus wants to give us.
To live consciously means we recognize when we are responding to fear. We notice what fear is telling us, and then we ask the Holy Spirit to tell us the truth that contradicts that message of fear. Think of FEAR as a backronym for “False Evidence Appearing Real.”
To live consciously means we pay attention to what makes us vulnerable to temptation. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us see the harm that is caused by sin. Through the Holy Spirit, we begin to loathe the sin as Jesus loathes it. We become empowered to live by grace and grow in holiness.
To live consciously means we discover the root causes of our wounds. We recognize that when our broken hearts and hurt feelings are left unhealed, we are very likely to react to difficulties and temptations in unhealthy and sinful ways. So we dig up the root by getting help from a spiritual director or therapist. We make ourselves available to Christ’s healing love.
Spend time today, and many days after this, looking for ways you’re not fully conscious of God’s radical love for you. By identifying how we live unconsciously, we are able to make decisions that enable us to live consciously in the reality of God’s wonderful goodness.
Here are a few eye-openers to consider:
- In what situations do you need divine help? Christ is already giving it!
- In what difficulties do you need the Holy Spirit’s comfort and consolation? God is already providing it!
- How lonely are you? Jesus is already at your side, giving you His shoulder to lean on.
- What’s confusing you? The Holy Spirit is already speaking clearly to your heart.
Whenever we are not seeing what God is already providing, we are simply unconscious of the truth. It’s time to study scripture, listen to Catholic podcasts, and read books and articles about how important we are to God.
Whenever we feel desolate and worried, we are simply unaware of the Divine Love that makes all good things possible. It’s time to meditate on bible passages such as Jeremiah 29:11 (“I know the plans I have for you”) and Romans 8:28 (“All things work together for the good of those who love Him”).
Whenever our need for the attention and love of others goes unfulfilled, we are simply forgetting to keep our eyes on Jesus and how near He is to us. It’s time to differentiate between what humans can give us and the love that Jesus has for us—a love so full that He gave Himself over to torturers and executioners for our sake.
Whenever we are uncertain of God’s plans for us—and how good they are—we are simply not spending enough time discerning which of our dreams and yearnings were placed within us by God Himself. It’s time to look for doors of opportunity that God is opening and take note of which ones He is closing.
To help you to live consciously, God the Father is holding your hand. Jesus is giving you His vision. And the Holy Spirit is empowering you. What is your motto for embracing these truths?
Author’s Note: For help with this, visit the author’s website Knowing God’s Will and Doing It Well at knowinggodswillanddoingitwell.com.
Photo by Tom Shakir on Unsplash
