“Do you see what I see?” is a line from the famous Christmas Song titled, Do you Hear What I Hear? It was written in 1962 by Noel Regney and Gloria Baker as a plea for peace. While world peace is still illusive, love, joy and peace for individuals are within everyone’s grasp. The catch — it requires that they see the invisible.
Seeing the invisible may sound illogical or impossible, but it has been the cornerstone of Biblical faith since the creation of man. The Bible said this of Moses: “It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible. ” (Hebrews 11:27 NLT)
Skeptics can easily question what people of faith “see”, but it is much harder to argue with the results of faith like Moses had. He is famous for the parting of the Red Sea and liberating millions of slaves from the most powerful kingdom on earth. Then, with God as His coach, he kept them alive in a desert for forty years. And he is just one of many heroes of faith who accomplished epic feats because they were able to “see” in faith.
Admittedly there are those who claim to see and hear things that may actually be unstable, but when believers hold themselves accountable to the safety nets of the Bible and other believers, they continue to experience supernatural transformations and healings to this day. Like the lady who called me one day trying to figure out what was happening to her. She was alone at home praying when suddenly she began speaking in a language she had not learned. Her genuine faith allowed God to fill her with His Spirit just like he did on the first day of the Church as recorded in Acts chapter two. She had not been coached or “brainwashed,” because she didn’t even know about speaking in tongues. She was just sincerely seeking a God she could not see.
The Bible and church history are filled with many other inexplicable acts of bravery, healings and miracles. But only those who believe experience these God-events. It is as if God sifts through mankind by asking people to see with their hearts. Some believe; others do not. Those who don’t often never understand and may even deem believers to be simple or foolish. But people of faith are not weak minded — they are just strong-hearted.
Ironically, these strong-hearted believers have been changing the world for centuries and the world has been rejecting them much like they rejected Jesus Christ. “We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless— the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.” (Hebrews 11:37-40 MSG)
As Christmas approaches, I would ask, “Do you see what I see?” I see a God who loves you and wants to interact with you in a dynamic way. I see God changing your life from the inside out and making you whole. I see you living a life of joy and peace in the middle of a messy world. If you are able to “see” the invisible God who changes believers lives, maybe you are a person of faith. Maybe you do see what I see. I hope so, and I hope you have a Christmas filled with love, joy and peace.