Eyes of Grace: How Jesus Saw People

This has been one of those weeks where everything felt a little off at first—but then Jesus gently rerouted my heart. He has this quiet way of doing that—no condemnation, no shame. Just truth, soaked in love.

I’ve been praying all week on the truth that Jesus never looked down on others. That sentence alone feels like a whole sermon. It’s simple, but it hits so deep. The more I sit with it, the more I realize how often I do the exact opposite. I size people up. I make assumptions. I mentally categorize people based on what I think I know. Jesus didn’t do that. Not once.

When the Pharisees saw “a woman caught in adultery” (John 8:3–11), Jesus saw a daughter. They wanted to stone her. He stooped down, drew in the dirt, and said, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one, the crowd disappeared. And then Jesus looked at her—not down on her—and said, “Neither do I condemn you… go and sin no more.”

That moment is everything.

Jesus didn’t ignore her sin. He simply looked beyond it. He saw her potential. Her future. He saw her heart—maybe fragile, maybe ashamed—but still full of worth. That’s what I want. That vision. That grace.

Lord, give me eyes like Yours. Help me see people the way You do.

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There’s a woman at work I’ve silently judged for months. I hate admitting that. She talks a lot. Her laugh is loud. She flirts with the married guy from HR. And every time I see her, something in me stiffens. I think, “She’s such a mess.”

But today… I swear I heard Jesus whisper: “She’s Mine too.”

And suddenly I thought, What if I’m the only person in her life who can reflect Jesus right now? What if she’s aching to be seen for more than the mask she wears every day?

Romans 5:8 keeps coming to mind: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Not after we cleaned up. Not after we got our act together. While we were still a mess. Jesus loved us then. He loves us still.

And I felt this gentle nudge in my soul: What if you stopped waiting for people to be lovable and just loved them like I do?

That wrecked me in the best way.

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I’ve been asking God to help me understand what it really means to be in Christ. Because if my identity is rooted in Him—not in performance, not in opinions, not in sin or shame—then it changes everything. It changes how I see myself. But more than that, it changes how I see others.

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 says:
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view… if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Jesus didn’t just look at broken people and see brokenness. He looked at them and saw what could be—not in some idealistic way, but in a deeply spiritual, eternal sense.

• Where others saw a blind man, Jesus saw someone who would worship with new eyes (John 9).
• Where others saw a crippled man, Jesus saw someone getting up and walking out of shame (John 5).
• Where others saw a hated tax collector, Jesus saw a future disciple and gospel writer—Matthew.
• And Zacchaeus? That “wee little man”? Jesus saw a redeemed heart climbing down a tree into grace.

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Jesus, You never looked down on anyone—because You saw what we could become in You.
Help me stop labeling people by their past, their mistakes, or even their current choices. Let me see eternal beings, made in Your image, loved beyond comprehension.

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Sometimes I forget that the cross was the greatest act of seeing. Jesus looked at a world full of sin and didn’t say, “They’re not worth it.”
Instead, He said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

He saw ignorance, not evil. Hurt, not hatred. And still, He chose love.

That makes me think… When I look at someone who’s hurt me or someone I think is “too far gone,” what do I see?

Do I see someone Jesus died for?

Do I see someone who is just as lost as I once was before grace found me?

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There’s this prayer I found tucked in my Bible, written in the margin years ago during a small group retreat. It feels relevant again tonight:

“Lord Jesus, give me Your eyes. Let me see the hurting instead of the hardened. Let me hear the cries behind the anger. Let me speak life to dry bones. Let me love beyond what makes sense. In Your name. Amen.”

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I’m beginning to realize that when I fail to see others through Jesus’ eyes, it’s usually because I’ve forgotten who I am in Him. If I still think I’m only as valuable as my behavior, my social media, or my productivity—then I’ll judge others by those same shallow standards.

But Jesus flips that. Always.

Colossians 3:12 says:
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

We are chosen, holy, and dearly loved.
And because of that identity, we are called to love others the same way.

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Tomorrow, I’m going to challenge myself.

For one day, I want to see and hear through the eyes and ears of Christ. That’s the challenge from my devotion today. And it scares me a little—because I already know I’ll be convicted. But I also know it will change me.

So here’s what I’m praying before I fall asleep tonight:

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Jesus,
You never looked down on anyone—not the outcast, the adulterer, the rebel, the doubter, or even the ones who nailed You to the cross. You saw people, not projects. Souls, not labels.

Lord, forgive me for the times I’ve been quick to judge and slow to love. I confess that I’ve looked down on others to feel better about myself. Strip that pride from me. Break it. Replace it with compassion.

Holy Spirit, tomorrow, give me Your eyes. Let me see the barista, the coworker, the person I usually ignore—all through Your lens of eternal value. Let my words reflect the gentleness of Jesus. Let my heart be quick to forgive and slow to assume.

Help me carry Your presence, not just in my words, but in my eyes, in the way I see people.

Thank You for never looking down on me, even when I was at my lowest.
Thank You for always seeing the version of me I couldn’t see yet.

I love You more than anything, Jesus.
Amen.

(CLICK HERE TO PRAY WITH ME FOR STRENGTH!) Please! I Need Strength Today! After What Happened Today, My Heart is Torn! Everyone’s Heart is Torn! Pray with me!

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Tonight I feel both convicted and comforted. Like God is doing something small but permanent in my heart. I want to walk into tomorrow wide-eyed with grace, looking at every person as someone Jesus is madly in love with. Because they are.

And so am I.

He never looked down on me.
How could I look down on anyone else?

— A Daughter Learning to See Like Jesus