Seeing the World With God’s EyesSample

What Do You See?

The next stop was the community shelter. As they got out of the car, Zion asked, “What are we doing here, Daddy?”

“This is where I work. C’mon—I want to introduce you to everyone!”

Zion followed Daddy as he stopped to say hi to each person. He knew everyone’s name, and he made sure to introduce Zion as she handed them a sandwich.

Have you ever felt invisible? Maybe you've had to sit alone at lunch or have been left out of a game at recess. How did that make you feel? Or perhaps you've seen someone else who seems to be forgotten or left out. When we notice that other people are hurting and feel like we want to do something to help them, that is called empathy. God wants us to have hearts that listen and care for what others are going through. God wants us to have empathy.

When Zion gets to the community shelter, she meets lots of new people. She discovers that many of them don’t have the food and clothes they need. How do you think that makes Zion feel?

Zion responds by having a heart that listens and cares for what the people she meets are going through. She responds with empathy! She walks around and learns everyone’s name and the special things about their personalities. She gets to know who they are on the inside.

The Bible teaches us that we should not focus on what is on the outside but instead learn about people’s hearts. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." When we have empathy, we take the time to get to know people’s hearts.

How do you feel when you see someone going through a hard time? What does it look like for you to have empathy?

How can we learn to see people the way God sees them?

Prayer:

"Dear God, thank you for loving us and caring more about who we are in the inside than what we look like on the outside. Help us to be able to see others the way you see them. Help us to have more empathy!"

Activity:

Super Stars

Think of some people in your life who might feel invisible. Make a star for each person you think of. On each star, write or draw something special about that person that others might not notice at first. Cut out the stars, give them to those people and tell them all about how important they are to you and to God!