El Roi: The God Who Sees

How does one really come to know someone ?  Does there come a moment where we can say we are fully known and understood?  I believe many of us pick up that thought without the reality or excitement of realizing such depth of understanding is beyond our human capacity.  Even with my closest friends and relatives there will always be experiences, reactions and memories that I will never have access to.  The depth of such possibility should motivate us in our relationships and draw us further down the pathways of life with those we love.  To know and be known... to be in relationship.  That is the stuff of life.

Since coming to know the Lord I have learned that there is only one who truly "knows the way that I take" Job 23:10.  My creator, redeemer and keeper.  He not only made me (Psalm 139:14), but he cared enough for me to redeem me (Ephesians 2:8) and give me a hope and future with Him (Jeremiah 29:11).  He is not distant or detached.  What He created he continues to guide, invest and prepare for. He is the God who knows and sees me.  El Roi is one of my favorite Hebrew names for God.  In Genesis 16 this is the name that Hagar uses in reference to God, who saw her affliction.  For Hagar it meant that God saw her in her hurt and devastation.  One translation shares that it was after God saw her that she really began to recognize God.  

Genesis 16:13:  The Message

She answered GOD by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, "You're the God who sees me!  "Yes!  He saw me; and then I saw him!"  

I have always been one to get lost in the big picture and so this story speaks to me.  Isn't Hagar's story, her reality, just like yours and mine?  Haven't we also had an irresistible encounter with God where He saw our condition and bridged the gap to come into our lives.  Yes, there was a moment where "I saw him" and began to see His character, His ways and His heart.  He is the God who sees.  

So I wonder, have you have taken the time to really "see" those around you today?  I read this and am challenged to be intentional with my gaze and focus.  Not only am I to study the face and character of my God, but I am also called to love what He has loved and created:  those around me.  As a bearer of His image I have been given eyes for a purpose and I have been given a longing to be known for a reason.  There are none that are invisible.  Perhaps today it might be my gaze, my intent or even my attachment that might reflect or lead someone to my God.

Keep your eyes open.  See.  There is not only a God who sees you... but He has also blessed you with the beautiful gift of vision.