“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did…” (John 4:29).
When the Samaritan woman encountered Jesus by the well, I wonder how she felt as He watched her draw water. She had gone there alone in the heat of the day to avoid the other women, carrying with her the weight of her past: broken relationships, painful situations, loneliness. When He found her there, and when the gaze of this strange man saw through her pain, I wonder what passed within her heart?
There is nothing within us that the gaze of Jesus does not see. The regrets we have nurtured, the shame that oppresses us, the defensive walls we have erected… they are not hidden from Him. He delights in the unique beauty of our being, and we are completely seen by Him. He is truth, and when we gaze into His eyes, we see the true reflection of His beloved – ourselves! There is no more perfect view of who we really are than the way He perceives us. The Samaritan woman was seen by Him, and in His gaze she discovered a love that changed everything.
The desire to be deeply known and loved is at the bedrock of the human heart, and its fulfillment is the wellspring of true joy. To be loved requires first to be seen, and to allow our hearts to be laid bare before the eyes of Love. It can require tremendous courage to lay down our defenses and allow ourselves to be seen fully as we are. God wants us to experience being loved in the totality of who we are, so He invites us more and more to relax in the gaze of His love. As we learn to open our eyes to return the gaze of Jesus, we encounter with startling clarity a love that sees us in truth, and loves us more than we can imagine.
