Hi Everyone,
Seemingly is a word that people don’t take seriously. For people’s opinions, feelings and decisions are often based on what things “seem” to be. They don’t take into consideration the underlying facts or situations surrounding it. So they base their decisions on what seems to be. It’s the easy way out. It’s “surface seeing”. It’s skimming off the top information. We are all guilty of this at one time or another.
However, things aren’t always what they seem. We can look at the top of the ocean and it just looks like water. But go underneath and a whole world of fish, sea creatures, coral reefs, and more, are there. We can’t see it by looking at the surface, or – surface seeing.
What about looking at people just by surface seeing, or even worse, other people’s opinions of them? Just like there’s so much in the ocean that can’t be seen by just looking at the surface, so it is with people as well.
Can you know the deepness of what’s underneath their surface? The feelings of their hearts? The situations that have formed their emotions or the way they behave or think? Surfing on the top of the ocean doesn’t give you what’s contained in the depths below. So it is with people.
I have to admit being guilty of this very thing and listening to an opinion about another without looking deeper into it. But then upon getting to know this person, and seeing deeper, I found an incredible heart for others, especially the less fortunate or lonely. Even though very busy, she showed her love for them and gave of what she had so little of – her time. I was so ashamed of myself, but learned a great lesson.
I’ve learned that we cannot judge someone by looking at the surface, without looking deeper and asking the Lord about it. Our negative opinion may just have stemmed from a bad day, or a one-time bad experience.
However, I’ve also learned that Holy Spirit guides us in all truth, and sometimes he gives us a “red flag” to keep our distance. We may not know why at the time, but Holy Spirit can see the deeper things that we cannot. We just have to trust Holy Spirit in how He is leading us.
To truly see the deep things, we need to be guided by Holy Spirit – otherwise, we’re just “surface seeing”.
I was looking at my phone and in came this wonderful blog. I needed this truth in my life today. Thank you for being faithful to the Lord, no matter what, so that we might be blessed. Your life is a true example.
Dear Linda,
Thank you for being so faithful and commenting. Your comments are always an encouragement to me. I am so thankful that the Lord knows we are not perfect, but a work in progress! We will all be learning until we go to be with Him and then we will learn more!
Blessings, Evelyn
“Surface Seeing” — what a perfect way to put what we do so naturally, often without awareness, formulating our thoughts and opinions from what seems obvious or is initially seen, yet on closer or deeper inspection, we learn our opinions, feelings, decisions, and conclusions are faulty. It can go both ways — we can mistakenly raise someone up in our esteem because they are well-dressed, eloquent in their speech, and confident only to find when we look deeper that their hearts are filled with greed, lust, selfishness, deceit, … — or we can think poorly of someone and make false negative assumptions because they are dressed shabbily, struggle in their speech, and are timid in their interactions not knowing that their husband died without leaving any life insurance, he mismanaged their finances and had accumulated debt and few savings, she hadn’t worked outside the home in years, was raising their child as a single mom, had little, if any. family support, and was struggling each day to pay the bills, care for their child, put food on the table, keep a roof over their heads, etc.
At different points in my life, I have been the one to be “surface seen”. How painful, damaging, hurtful, and destructive it was to be misappropriately labeled, falsely seen, to have inaccurate conclusions made against me, and future interactions based on falsehoods rather than on truth. Yet with all this done against me, I, too, have succumbed to “surface seeing”, and been the one to inflict hurt and pain on others.
In more recent months, the L-RD has been teaching me what you so eloquently called and described as, “surface seeing”. I have found that at times when I’ve been about to make a judgment based on what I just saw or heard, the Holy Spirit has whispered to my spirit, “Don’t make assumptions. You don’t know the full picture.” He’s then shifted my thinking and perception, either to more gentleness and compassion or toward removing myself from someone’s presence. He’s shown me that at times a person has looked and seemed holy, good, caring, someone I would want to know more or engage in further conversation, yet to my surprise, He’s limited our interaction or drawn me away. At other times, in my limited sight, I’ve wanted to shy away from a person based on my first assessment, when in truth, with further conversation, I discovered my shortsightedness as they were gentle, kind, and filled with the love of Jesus.
More often, I have found myself asking the L-RD for His sight to see people and situations in truth, for Him to show me what I don’t see, and to lead me. This has been especially important in street evangelism, as He has led me to people I felt scared to engage with due to dreadlocks, tattoos, and an angry exterior — and pulled me away from people who looked just lovely, pleasant, and harmless.
So yes, Ev, “things aren’t always what they seem”. And yes, as you wrote, “to truly see the deep things, we need to be guided by Holy Spirit – otherwise, we’re just ‘surface seeing'”.
Thank you once again for opening my eyes, mind, heart, and spirit, drawing me closer to the L-RD, bringing me more in alignment with G-D’s ways, thoughts, and impressions, and for revealing once again the magnificence, brilliance, and perfection of our G-D.
Dear Sherry,
What a beautiful response! Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughts and insights about this post. Yes, Holy Spirit’s guidance is especially important in evangelism, and it is obvious how He leads you. This is one of the hardest lessons for all of us to learn, as we have been trained to walk in the flesh and not the spirit from childhood. We have to therefore unlearn everything and become as a child again. We all have much to learn and to grow – no matter how old we are! One of life’s mysteries that keeps on unfolding so that we can learn to “see” the way He sees.
Blessings, Evelyn
How true all of it is…Oh to be able to see and feel one another’s hearts like our Lord does would be so wonderful!
I’m reminded of some thing that Mother Theresa once said… “when I look at others, I try not to see THEM, but CHRIST in them”.
Like you said, we need to see and feel in the Holy Spirit, and only then, will we see and feel what is truly in the hearts of others.
Thank you Ev, for seeing, thinking and sharing with us “well below the surface”!
And thank you also for your “Beautiful Heart” Kath
Dear Kath,
Thank you so much for commenting and for your kind words. You truly have the heart of Christ and see things and people as He does. I know that you are an inspiration to many.
Blessings, Evelyn