New Eyes by Joann Lampe

Let me look at you with new eyes

With eyes not jaded by the world

But with eyes wide open to see beyond

The scars inflicted upon you

Cause me to look only upon

The outside wall

Who knows what lies beyond that wall?

What’s behind the barriers put in place

By man & you

Let me look at you with new eyes

LORD, wipe the film from my eyes

Allow me clarity

To see the real you – the real me

What royalty awaits behind those doors

The doors locked in place by

Disappointment in another’s actions

Critical thoughts and words

Refusal to look beyond the scars

Put in place by the world of man

Let me look at you with new eyes

Encourage instead of discourage

Build up not tear down

Look beyond the obvious to the hidden

Hidden talents

Hidden compassion

Hidden love

Hidden royalty

LORD, let me see with new eyes

Help me to bridge the gap

To connect

Hope to the hopeless

Love to the unloved

The lost to the found

Pauper to king

LORD, let me see with new eyes

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” These are two phrases I heard over and over again as I grew up. My dad used to quote them all the time so that I wouldn’t feel so bad when someone called me a name or made fun of me in some way. It happened often, so I heard them a lot. The names may not have hurt me physically, but they sure hurt. And because I was judged by my “cover,” no one saw the real me, and neither did I, because I chose to believe that I was the “cover.”

Have you done that – been judged by outside appearances? I believe we all have at one time or another. I have and still do and each time I do, I ask God to forgive me, because I know that I am limiting the potential. The potential for understanding, the potential for compassion, the potential for a possible friendship, and the potential for providing hope and encouragement. We not only limit ourselves when we don’t look beyond, we limit the other person, because our thoughts and/or words cause a “ding” in the book; they can change chapter and verse. The next time you start to judge “a book by its cover,” or a person for some action they’ve taken, ask God to give you “new eyes.”

Romans 13:8-10 says: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

“Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.” When we look at each other with clear eyes and go beyond the cover we can “love our neighbor as ourselves.”



JoAnn Lampe
June 2, 2010