Being seen by the Father was enough for Jesus. It should be for us too, says Gemma Hunt
Have you been seen today? Not just acknowledged with a passing: “Hi! You alright?” – which is usually a rhetorical question and not actually a conversation opener – but fully seen?
You may have gathered from my columns that I like to go pretty deep pretty quickly. This is intentional. I’ve spent so many years talking on a surface level, trying to put people at ease before I interview them on camera, that now, I love to go beyond the superficial and get to the heart of a conversation. This is where I believe people can be fully seen.
I grew up in the 80s, when the phrase: “Children should be seen and not heard” was still regularly bandied around. This always made me feel like I had to be quiet and on my best behaviour; that I was ‘seen’ as a reflection of my parents – and I didn’t want to disappoint them. Looking back, I realise it was a huge expectation to place on a young child – one that I’ve carried for the rest of my life. I hate to disappoint people; I will run myself ragged to help others, sometimes to my own cost. I am not looking for sympathy, but I wonder how many other people feel the same.
Jesus himself wasn’t recognised or validated by his own people
Some of us with families feel parenting is a thankless job; we are raising ungrateful children and caring for spouses who take us for granted. Some of us are in paid jobs where it doesn’t feel like our wages equate to our worth, workload or the unrealistic expectations placed on us. Many of us serve in church and, while we profess to do it as an act of service to the Lord, we sometimes go through the motions resentfully, lacking the support we need or the thanks we think we deserve.
Please hear me: I work, I serve, I am a wife and a mother; I genuinely love my family, my career and the church ministry the Lord has given me. But sometimes I just don’t feel seen, and that lack of appreciation cuts deep.
I don’t know why I’m surprised. For those of us who don’t feel seen, we’re in good company. Jesus himself wasn’t recognised or validated by his own people when he returned to Galilee after starting his ministry. Why didn’t those who knew him so well – those he grew up with, learned alongside and worked with – see him and the potential he had?
It’s going to be tough, but the simple truth is that we need to stop seeking vocational validation from people (I’m preaching to myself here!) and strive to adopt a kingdom mindset. As Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:23, we ought to: “work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (NLT).
Looking at Jesus has had a profound impact on my thinking. Being seen by the Father was enough for Jesus, so it should be enough for us too. I aim to do the best I can with what I have for the Lord, and if it doesn’t get validated by anyone, I am working on making my peace with that, finding assurance that my heavenly Father looks down and says: “This is my child, whom I love and am very pleased with” (see Matthew 3:17).
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