Jesus had great eyes. He saw the world differently than others saw it. Matthew tells us, “When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
Jesus didn’t just pass by the multitudes; He “saw” them. He wasn’t bothered by them; He was “moved with compassion” for them. Jesus saw others through D-Life eyes.
Jesus saw a Samaritan woman sitting by a well and knew she needed living water. He saw Zacchaeus up in a tree and knew he needed a friend. He saw Blind Bartimaeus by the roadside and knew he needed sight. He saw a woman caught in adultery and knew she need an advocate. Jesus saw the people that others didn’t see and He saw them in a different way than others saw them. His eyes were the eyes of a disciple maker.
It’s amazing how your vision changes when you begin to live the D-Life. As you live a lifestyle of discipleship you see others differently. You begin to see everyone you meet through D-Life eyes.
You meet a neighbor who is unchurched and skeptical about faith. Now you see your neighbors in a different way than you did before. You see him with D-Life eyes. You see him as someone you what to befriend. You see him as someone to invite to the D-Group meeting in your home where he can openly explore his faith in a friendly environment. You pray you can lead him to faith the way Jesus did Nathanael. Jesus saw Nathanael sitting under a tree. He knew he was a skeptic and he didn’t believe that anything good could come out of Nazareth. But Jesus said, “Come and see.” Jesus invited him and he came. He saw and he was saved.
Will unchurched and unsaved people come to your D-Group? Some will. My wife invited an unchurched friend to her D-Group. After several weeks of faithfully attending her friend said, “My husband gave me this Bible as a gift ten years ago. I had never picked it up in all those years. Now you girls have me reading it everyday.” That’s what happens when you see others through D-Life eyes.
Perhaps you run into an acquaintance at the store. She’s been through a divorce and struggling with an addiction. She’s angry at the church, but you see her with D-Life eyes. You invite her to your D-Group that meets at the coffee shop. She comes and finds encouragement in God’s Word and loving spiritual accountability through the group. She even participates in the group’s bi-monthly ministry projects. She eventually starts attending worship and other Bible studies at your church. Like the woman Jesus saw at the well, she trades her addiction for living water.
You meet a guy at the ballpark. He is a church attender, but through D-Life eyes you see great leadership potential in him that has not yet been realized. Like Jesus saw the leader that was in Peter, you see the leadership that’s in him. You invite him to your D-Group at Cracker Barrel. You give him opportunities to tell the Bible story and facilitate the discussion as you begin equipping him to lead a new D-Group. As you prepare to multiply a new group, you have a leader in waiting because you saw him with D-Life eyes.
You speak with a widow at church. You realize she is lonely. She loves the Lord and has great wisdom, but feels that opportunities for Christian service have passed her by. However, you see her with D-Life eyes. You have come to realize the power of multigenerational discipleship and the young wives and mothers in your D-Group could really benefit from this woman’s godly wisdom. You invite her to your D-Group that meets at the Diner. The young women in your group are greatly blessed as she shares in the weekly discussions and this widow comes alive again as she invests in the lives of her new young friends.
I think you are getting the picture. Living the D-Life is not a program; it’s a lifestyle. When you begin living the D-Life as a way of life, you begin to see others differently. For the rest of your life you begin to see others through D-Life eyes.
Not everyone you see and invite to your D-Group will come. Many will have reasons why they are too busy to participate. However, D-Life eyes see the multitudes of people who are weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. As you keep looking through D-Life eyes, God will show you the ones He wants you to disciple.
I am praying that a contagious condition of the eyes would spread through every church in the world. I pray that every believer would catch an incurable infection of D-Life eyes.
