Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Elisa Belle. She was full of energy and loved to mess around with her brothers. She had a very strong personality and was very hardheaded. Luckily, she had a loving mother, who would make her to go in front of the mirror every single day, pass her hands in her own face and repeat the words: “I am a daughter of God. I am a princess. I love myself.” Elisa Belle’s mom gave her many hugs and kisses and made her feel loved. But that was not everything. Her mom also would correct, chasten and emend Elisa every time she messed up or that she did not act as the princess and daughter of God she was. Elisa did not like that at all. After being reprimanded by her mother, she would go to her bedroom to cry and say “my mom does not love me”. She was wrong…very wrong, though. The main reason her mom did that was because she loved Elisa Belle, and she could see that little girl not only as a little girl, but as the great woman she could become.
If my mom, being merely mortal, could see so much of my potential, imagine what God sees in me. Imagine what He sees in you. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said:
“We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.”
A great example of that is when God called Enoch to become a prophet. Enoch’s instantly answered:
“Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?” (Moses 6:31)
Enoch presented to God three main reasons why he was not qualified to become a prophet:
Reason #1 - Enoch was 65 years old when he was called. Well, for me that is not a lad. However, if we take a look back, and remember that at that time people used to live for 7, 8, or even 9 hundred years, a 65 years old is only a little boy, who does not know much about life…and now God wants him to go to all these old people to call them to repentance. Would you hear to a 12 years old prophet?
Reason #2 - Also, according Enoch, people hated him. Why? Maybe he was too righteous and this bugged all the wicked people. Perhaps that may be the reason, but I don’t really know for sure.
Reason #3 - And because these two reasons were not bad enough, Enoch was also slow of speech. That may mean that he probably had some speech impediment, just like Moses. Is not interesting that God would call as prophets men that the world could consider weak, because of their human debilities?
So….with my mere human vision, if I was calling Enoch, after he telling me all of his concerns and reasons why he could not be a prophet, I would probably have said “yeah Enoch, you are right. I am so sorry, I had not thought about those before. So just keep going with your life, have fun, and I will do my best to find someone else more qualified to call as a prophet.” But did God do that? OF COURSE NOT! Instead, God replied: “Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee […] Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify”. (Moses 6:32, 34). God could see Enoch way farther than what Enoch was at that time. He knew the infinite capacity of Enoch, and who he could become in terms of a few years, and especially of eternity. God could see Enoch building up Zion and being translated, even though at that time this could seem something impossible to happen.
Then why is that so hard for us to do the same? The answer is OBVIOUS: because we are not God. Yes, of course….but we are children, and as His children we can taste, practice, and learn how to develop some of God’s divine attributes we have inherited from Him, and I truly believe that one of these attributes we can work on is SEEING PEOPLE THROUGH ETERNAL LENS. How will we do that? Well, I am still trying to figure it out. I am sorry if I brought you to the end of this long text without giving to you any practical solution. Perhaps helping people to remember their divine identity, just as my mom did to me may be a possible solution. Or applying what God did to Enoch, encouraging others to keep moving on despite their flaws, and reminding them that through Christ they can do anything.
These are just a few ideas I had, but I know that through the Spirit you can find by yourself the exact things you can do to see others – and yourself - through the eternal lens and help them to achieve their full potential. I am eternally grateful for a mom who helped me and still helps me to see myself with an eternal perspective, and I hope to be able to do the same for others.
If you still think that seeing people through eternal lens is only optional, I just leave you with President Thomas S. Monson words:
“We have the responsibility to see individuals not as they are but rather as they can become.”
