The eyes are the windows of the soul

A person in a real sense, is what he or she sees. And seeing depends on our eyes. The old proverb, "The eyes are the windows of the soul," contains a profound truth. Our eyes reveal whether our souls are spacious or cramped, hospitable or critical, compassionate of judgemental. How exactly does our eyes reveal the real person inside? Surely it can't mean we can draw conclusions about a person by merely looking at the eyes. That is too superficial. Rather, it is what or how we see with our eyes. The way we see other people is usually the way we see ourselves. If we have made peace with our flawed humanity and embraced our broken identity, we are able to tolerate in others what was previously unacceptable in ourselves. It reminds me of Kay. Being a self-confident person, Kay could not accept my weakness. I wonder, by refusing to accept my weakness, does it in a way reveal Kay's unwillingness to tolerate her own weakness?

Judgement depends on what we see, how deeply we look at the other, how honestly we face ourselves, how willing we are to read the human story beneath the frightened face. The gentleness of Jesus with sinners flowed from His ability to read their hearts. Behind people's grumpiest poses and most puzzling defense mechanisms, behind their arrogance and airs, behind their silence, sneers, and causes, Jesus saw little children who hadn't been loved enough and who had ceased growing because someone had ceased believeing in them.

What about us? What do we see? Is it time to change our lens?