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If you have ever spent time with a young child or grandchild, you have probably played the simple game called peekaboo. Someone hides their face behind their hands, a blanket, or a pillow. Then suddenly the face appears again, and someone laughs and says, “Peekaboo, I see you!” It often turns into a playful little argument about who saw whom first. In today’s message we will discover what this childhood game has to do with our spiritual life and the way God sees us. Please read more….
If you have ever played that little game with a child, you know how much delight there is in the moment of being seen. The child laughs, the adult laughs, and both pretend to be surprised that the other person has suddenly appeared. In a playful way, the whole game revolves around the joy of seeing and being seen.
Think about that for a moment. Deep within every human heart there is a similar longing. We all want to be seen, not just noticed in passing, but truly seen and known. We want someone to recognize who we really are.
The Gospel passage in John, chapter nine, tells of the man born blind. Most of us naturally focus on the miracle itself. Jesus heals the man, and for the first time in his life he is able to see. It is one of the most powerful healing stories in the Gospels.
But there is a small detail at the very beginning of the story that is easy to overlook. John begins the account with these simple words: “As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth.” (John 9:1)
Before the blind man ever saw Jesus, Jesus had already seen him.
The blind man was not searching for Jesus. He was simply sitting there as he had done so many times before. The disciples saw a theological puzzle and began debating whose sin might have caused the blindness. Jesus, however, saw something entirely different. He saw the man himself.
The miracle begins, not because the blind man finds Jesus, but because Jesus first notices him.
When we begin looking for it, we see this same pattern throughout Scripture. Jesus sees Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth before Matthew ever imagines following him. Jesus sees Nathanael under the fig tree before Nathanael realizes anyone noticed him at all.
Even centuries earlier the same truth appears in the story of David. When the prophet Samuel came to anoint a new king, Jesse presented one impressive son after another. Each looked strong and capable, but God rejected them all. Finally, the youngest son was brought in from the fields, a shepherd boy named David. It was then that the Lord spoke the words that still echo through Scripture: “The LORD does not see as mortals see. They look at appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
God saw David long before David ever imagined he would be king.
When we step back and reflect on our own lives, we begin to recognize something similar. Many of us can remember a time when faith began to awaken in our hearts. At first it may have felt as if we were the ones who finally discovered God. We began to pray more seriously, to read Scripture more carefully, or to seek a deeper relationship with Christ.
But over time, something surprising becomes clear. God had been seeing us long before we ever noticed him.
He has always seen us in our struggles. He sees us in our wounds. He sees the hidden parts of our lives that others may never see. He sees our potential and the person we were created to become. In a sense, our spiritual lives sometimes resemble that childhood game of peekaboo.
We may think that we were the ones who finally discovered God. In reality, God had already noticed us.
In fact, Scripture tells us that God chose us long before we ever chose Him. Saint Paul writes that God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world.” Long before we took our first breath, before we ever opened our eyes to this world, God already saw us and knew us. Jesus later tells His disciples something similar: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit.” In other words, our lives are not accidents, and our faith is not random. The God who sees us has also chosen us, and He has chosen us for a purpose.
Just as Jesus noticed the blind man sitting there and stopped, God continues to notice each of us today. He sees our hearts, and he invites us to follow him along the path he has prepared for our lives.
Heavenly Father, you see me more clearly than I see myself. Thank You for noticing me, for loving me, and for calling me even in the moments when I feel unseen or hidden. Help me to trust that You know my heart and that You are always inviting me to follow You more closely. Amen!
AMDG
AMDG is a Latin abbreviation for “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,” which means “For the Greater Glory of God.”
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Please take a moment to share your thoughts about today’s message below.
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Thank you!
God knew me before I was in my mother’s womb. Have memories of knowing Him at 3 years old. 💕🙏
Thank you, Brian, for an uplifting and loving message.
Thanks Brian for the gospel message it’s encouraging knowing Jesus is always watching out for us
Again another beautiful message. You are truly a blessing.