Jesus Speaks to Women: Luke 7

13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Luke 7: 13

We are back on Luke 7, and today we are going to focus on verse 13...let me just start by saying...WOW!

Let's take this verse one portion at a time:

When the Lord saw her... is it silly to start every sentence with "WOW"?  It probably is.  And I would probably break some kind of golden rule of appropriate writing...but...WOW!  The Lord saw her!  He saw her!  Jesus. Saw. Her!  

He is the Lord Who Sees.  That is one of the Names of God that I treasure the most.  Like Hagar said in Genesis 16: 13-14, He is the God who sees me.  I don't even have to make a peep.  I don't even have to call out His name.  I don't even have to know He is there.  Regardless of all that I am or that I am not, He sees me.  He sees me in my lowly estate.  He sees me in my sin.  He sees me in my faithfulness.  He sees me in my failings.  He sees me in my triumph.  He sees me in my joy.  He sees me in my sorrow.

In a small measure, it is like when you are a parent.  I know it might sound cliche, but it often feels as if you are granted some kind of sixth sense about your children, isn't it?  I mean, we know...and even when they pretend, we can see them.  We can see that something is not OK.  Even if they can't articulate it, parents can see it, because we can't help it...we always see them.  How many times does a parent go check up on their kids when they are asleep?  As a parent, do you know where your toddler is at all times around the house? And as they enter adolescence, what parent doesn't try to stalk their sons and daughters on social media to make sure they know what's going on in their lives?  

We go through great lengths to make sure we can see our kids regardless of how old they are. I now understand the total heartbreak my parents must have suffered when I announced I was leaving the country for good all those years ago.  Back then, it didn't even occur to me to stop to think about their pain.  Now, as I'm sitting here, with less than 2 years until my older son takes those dreaded steps out of the home into the world of college, my heart is already feeling the hurt of the approaching blow.  And why is that?  Well...perhaps because a parent's heart it's not his/her own.  It belongs to the child that they hold in their arms.  And when it is time to let go...the heart goes too.  We love them so much.  And loving is seeing.  So, when we can't see them...we mourn.  

Our Heavenly Father doesn't have to go through the sorrow of separation because He is always here.  He always sees us.  No matter how far we think we have wandered, He always sees us.  And He sees us because He loves us.  He sees us because He cares.  

Jesus is no different.  As the visible manifestation of the Father's glory, Jesus is with us always.  He sees us regardless.  And the same way He saw that poor widow even without her calling out to Him or begging Him for help, He sees us even when we don't know what to do or forget that He is there.  Even when we don't know what to say or even that we could say something...the Holy Spirit takes care of that:  

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 8: 26

Let's never forget that He sees us.  The same way Jesus saw this widow, the same way the Angel of the Lord saw Hagar, in our moments when we feel as if the world has ended, let's rest in the assurance of His presence and in the fact that He sees us because He loves us and because He cares.