Let Your Heart Do The Seeing

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a – Love is patient; love is kind; is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth. It bears all thing, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

I love this story told about Mendelsohn's grandfather:

He was born with a humpback and his presumed grotesque appearance caused people to turn away from him. On a journey to Hamburg he spied a woman so wonderful and beautiful he fell madly in love. Like all others she could not even bring herself to look at his deformity.

As he prepared to leave, he climbed the steps and tried to talk with her though she avoided looking at him.

"Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes", she replied, "And do you?"

"Yes I do," he said, "In heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the Lord added, "But your wife will be humpbacked."

"Right then and there I called out, 'O Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.'"

The woman looked into his eyes for the first time and tentatively reached out and placed her hand in his. Much later, she became his wife.

Love and beauty are found more than skin deep and the miracle of God takes place every time we let our hearts do the seeing.

Prayer: Gracious God, let us look with eyes of love on neighbours and friends and families and especially on the unknown and on the unloved. Let us see your image in each and every one, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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