Love Is Blind

I was talking with Ginger (church secretary) in the church office one day and I mentioned how, as a teenager, I had a crush on the film actress and one of the most beautiful women in the world, Sophia Loren.  How I was shocked that she married Carlo Ponti, a film producer.  Carlto Ponti was 5'5" tall, 23 years older than her, and not very handsome.  To make matters worse, she turned down Cary Grant who proposed to her.  How did that happen?  Ginger said, "Love is blind."

I didn't know exactly what that meant.  So I turned to William Shakespeare.  One of his favorite quotes which he used in "The Merchant of Venice,"  "Henry V," and "Two Gentlemen of Verona," was:  "But love is blind, and lovers cannot see.  The pretty follies that themselves commit."  But what does that mean?

I did a little survey and found that most people interpreted the saying as, "That's when a girl falls in love with a bad guy that treats her mean but she didn't know it at first because she thought she loved him."

I got many different responses.  I finally went back to Ginger and said, "Tell me exactly what "love is blind" means.  Ginger said, "That's when you see with your heart.  Not with your eyes."  

I got it.  I then immediately thought of how God sees us.  He doesn't look at our physical appearance.  He looks at our heart.

How do we look at other people?  Do we see only their physical faults?  Do we see only with our eyes?  Or do we see with our heart?

In this Christmas season and New Year, may we make a point to see others as God sees us.  When we look at our friends, loved ones, and even strangers.  Let us see with our heart.