The View from the Cross: Seeing Others Through Resurrection Eyes

In 1993, Mary Johnson's world was shattered when her 20-year-old son was murdered at a party in Minneapolis. The man who killed him, a 16-year-old named O'Shea Israel, was tried as an adult and sentenced to 25 years in prison. For over a decade, Mary carried a weight few can imagine—a burden of grief, anger, and an ever-burning question: "Why?"

Mary was a churchgoing woman, full of faith. But even faith can grow brittle when wrapped in pain. That is, until one night, she heard God say something unexpected: "Forgive him." The idea felt impossible. But obedience to the Spirit often leads us to impossible places. She requested a visit with O'Shea. When he entered the room, Mary stood up and did the unthinkable—she hugged him. That hug, that moment of grace, changed everything. Over time, their conversations deepened into friendship. When O'Shea was released, Mary helped him find housing—next door to her. Now, they travel together, sharing their story of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Mary's story is not just about personal healing. It's a vivid illustration of the kind of radical transformation Paul writes about in 2 Corinthians 5:16–21. When Paul says, "From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective," he is talking about this exact kind of shift—a spiritual lens reshaped by the cross. When we see Jesus rightly, we begin to see everyone else differently.

A New Vision Born from the Cross

Before his encounter with Christ, Paul viewed the world through a lens shaped by status, law, and tribe. He saw people according to their past, their performance, their appearance. But on the road to Damascus, something broke open. The resurrected Christ didn’t just confront Paul’s sin—He transformed Paul’s vision. Suddenly, the categories by which Paul had organized the world crumbled. Now, through the cross, he saw people not as enemies or inferiors, but as beloved image-bearers, potential brothers and sisters in Christ.

He writes: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!" (2 Cor. 5:17). This isn’t just about individual salvation—it’s about a cosmic reboot. New creation isn’t merely a theological idea. It's already breaking in.

NT Wright puts it this way: "Paul sees the death and resurrection of Jesus not just as a one-time event, but as the launching of a whole new world. New creation isn’t just coming—it’s already begun. And we live in that new world now."

This transformed vision means we no longer define people by their worst day. We don’t measure worth by what someone has done or failed to do. We see people as Christ sees them: through resurrection eyes.

The Samaritan Woman and the God Who Sees

Think of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). Others saw her through judgmental eyes: a woman with a scandalous past, someone to avoid. But Jesus saw her as a worshiper, a witness, a daughter. He knew her whole story and still engaged her with dignity and truth. She became one of the first evangelists in the Gospels.

Likewise, Mary Johnson had every earthly reason to define O'Shea by the worst thing he had ever done. But the Spirit prompted her to see beyond that, to regard him not from a worldly point of view, but as someone who could be transformed by grace.

This is the heart of Paul’s declaration: “We no longer regard anyone from a worldly point of view.” Our vision changes when we begin to see people through the cross. It’s not about wishful thinking or naïve optimism. It’s about seeing others as beloved, redeemable, and invited into God’s future.

The Spirit Empowers the Work of Reconciliation

Transformation, however, doesn’t happen by sheer willpower. Reconciliation isn’t a noble self-help project—it’s a Spirit-empowered calling. Paul writes, “Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment” (2 Cor. 5:5).

We are empowered by the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead. That Spirit enables us to:

• See others with compassion instead of suspicion
• Forgive by God’s strength, not our own
• Speak truth in love
• Move toward those we would rather avoid

Mary Johnson didn’t extend forgiveness to O'Shea because she was naturally good at it. She did it because the Holy Spirit gave her the strength to do the impossible.

The Spirit is the presence of the new creation within us. He enables us to see what the world cannot: that love is stronger than hate, that grace is more powerful than revenge, and that reconciliation is possible.

The Cross Gives Us a New Job Description

Paul doesn’t stop at personal transformation. He pushes us outward: "Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18).

To be reconciled to God is to be enlisted into a mission. Reconciliation is not just something we receive. It becomes our calling. We are now ambassadors for Christ, pleading with the world: "Be reconciled to God" (v. 20).

What does that mean? It means:

• Where there is bitterness, we plant peace.
• Where there is judgment, we extend mercy.
• Where there is division, we build unity.

Reconciliation is a Kingdom practice. It reorders not just our hearts, but our relationships, our churches, and our communities. NT Wright says it plainly: "God’s future world has broken into the present in Jesus Christ. The church’s job is to live in that future now."

Mary Johnson didn’t stop at forgiving O'Shea. She opened her life to him. She stepped into the mess of relationship, becoming a minister of reconciliation. That’s the vision Paul casts: not just personal peace, but public peacemaking.

What Reconciliation Is—and Isn’t

Of course, reconciliation is not always about restored closeness. True reconciliation acknowledges harm, seeks justice, and may require boundaries. In cases of abuse, it is not safe or wise to return to dangerous relationships. Forgiveness can be extended without enabling ongoing harm.

Reconciliation is about healing. Sometimes that means restored relationship. Other times, it means releasing bitterness and trusting God to be the healer and judge.

This distinction matters. God does not call the abused to return to their abuser. He calls them into freedom, peace, and wholeness. The path of reconciliation must always be walked with wisdom, safety, and support.

A World in Need of Reconciliation

We live in a world fractured by division—politically, racially, relationally. And what the world doesn’t need is more partisanship or self-righteousness. What it needs is people so transformed by the grace of Christ that they can’t help but extend it.

Perhaps the greatest evidence of the resurrection is not just an empty tomb—it is a reconciled relationship.

Paul writes, "He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21). This is the gospel: Christ took on our sin so we could take on His righteousness. He saw us not for what we had done, but for who we could become.

The Call of Lent: Not Just Repentance, but Renewal

This is the heart of Lent. Not just giving something up, but receiving something new. Not just looking backward in sorrow, but forward in hope. It’s about the Spirit opening our eyes to see with resurrection vision.

As O'Shea said, "She sees me now not for what I did, but for who I can become." That’s the Gospel.

If Mary can see O'Shea differently because of Christ…
If Paul can see the world differently because of Christ…
Then what about us?

Who is Christ inviting you to see differently today?

Could your greatest act of witness this Lent be how you see someone differently?

Could it be forgiving someone who doesn’t deserve it? Offering grace even when it costs you?

This is our calling. Not just to wear the name of Jesus, but to reflect His heart.

As Warren Wiersbe writes: "How do we show love to others? By accepting them for what they are and seeing them as persons for whom Christ died."

When we see Jesus rightly, we begin to see everyone else differently.

So this Lent, be reconciled.
And become a reconciler.