Years ago, I made a terrible mistake: over the course of several months, I saw someone I love at his absolute worst, and I believed that I had finally seen him as he truly was. All our long years of friendship seemed like nothing more than a smokescreen which had kept me from seeing the truth about him. I was very sad.
“[W]e believe that somehow we see people as they really are only when we see them at their worst. We know that secretly Mary is slovenly, or John is a crook, or Susan is only interested in herself. When we find people’s flaws after a long acquaintance with them, we believe we are finally seeing the truth about them.” Roberta Bondi, To Love As God Loves
Thankfully, I was dead wrong. As my vision cleared, I began to see that my friend’s flaws are not my friend at all. They are only the things that imprison him and weigh him down and steal his joy and mar his beauty. When he is freed from them, he will soar like an eagle.
“We see people as they really are only when we see them through the tender and compassionate eyes of God. . . . [Stated] metaphorically: ‘If you see a man with one eye, do not make any judgment in your heart but regard him as though he were whole.’” Ibid.
“The Lord frees prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.” Psalm 146:7-8