Through The Eyes of Love

Melissa Manchester

Please, don’t let this feeling end
It’s everything I am
Everything I want to be
I can see what’s mine now
Finding out what’s true
Since I found you
Looking through the eyes of love

Now, I can take the time
I can see my life
As it comes up shining now
Reaching out to touch you
I can feel so much
Since I found you

Looking through the eyes of love

[Chorus]
And now, I do believe
That even in a storm we’ll find some light
Knowing you’re beside me, I’m all right

Please, don’t let this feeling end
It might not come again
And I want to remember
How it feels to touch you
How I feel so much
Since I found you
Looking through the eyes of love

https://genius.com/Melissa-manchester-through-the-eyes-of-love-lyrics

If you’re old enough, you may remember this song as the theme song from the 1979 movie Ice Castles. I was sixteen that year and we girls all went to the movie theater and cried our eyes out over the story of young love and figure skating! We ice skated at the small rink on our way home from school; the village iced the tennis courts and had built a warming house where we could change our skates. It was my favorite pastime during our long North Country winters and gave us lots of dreams of Olympic performances and the beautiful ice dancers with their beautiful young man to hold on to. I’m not sure Melissa Manchester or the makers of the movie had Jesus in mind with this song, but I think it fits well with a personal relationship with the God of the Universe!

This leads me to the book I read this week: Through The Eyes Of Love Encouraging others through prophetic revelation by Shawn Bolz. Shawn has revelation that prophecy and revelation knowledge all hinge on the love of God. We cannot impact lives for the Gospel without seeing people through God’s eyes of love. Shawn has learned through years of trial and error and experimenting with prophecy that it all boils down to how much the Lord cares about individuals. The first of his books I read was Translating God. In that book, he shared many experiences, many from his own life, that boiled all prayer and prophecy down to that love. In Through The Eyes Of Love, Shawn shares stories of people he has interviewed on his Exploring podcasts as well as his own amazing testimonies of how the Spirit has used him when he has been bold enough to step out in love.

God wants to speak to people right where they’re at. This book begins with connection with the Father. When we prophecy, it has to be out of a loving relationship. We need the true revelation of who we are as beloved children of God, then seeing others through that love, we can work from a healed relationship, knowing that acceptance comes from God and not from your gift. Then you can humbly let Him flow through you. Shawn covers marriage & family, life direction, restoration, entertainment, work, finances, government, and redemption. I think this covers all areas of life on earth that the gift of prophecy, used with love, can minister to others. I remember Pastor Penn Clark teaching our congregation how to use the gifts of the Spirit. Thirty-some-years later, the thing that has helped me most: think about what God wants to say to the person. I think sometimes I need a rock dropped on me to get things into my heart. I’ve always known the love of God is what brought Jesus to save us, the love of God sent Holy Spirit down to be our comforter, teacher, guide and friend. It has not always infiltrated my heart and soul how much I am loved by the Father and how much He loves others just as much. Shaw Bolz’s ministry has added a lot to my life, changing my outlook and thought life, which is seeping down into my heart and progressively manifest in my life. I recommend this book along with Shawn’s others, even if you don’t think you are a prophet. We are all called to prophecy, even if we don’t wear the mantle of the office of the Prophet. [Apostle Paul said he wished we all prophesied and that we should covet the gift of prophecy]

Going back to the theme song from Ice Castles, I can relate this love song to my relationship with Father God, through Christ Jesus. I was looking for love in all the wrong places after my Dad died. When I found a relationship with Jesus, I found a love that I didn’t want to let go. Through the years I’ve had a deeper revelation of Father God. I can see what’s mine now. I have seen a light that opened up another world for me. I have found the Love that will never let me go. I’m in a relationship that I could never have imagined when I first saw that movie, since I didn’t meet Jesus until five years after I saw it. I know from experience He’s with me in the eye of the storm. I know who I am, looking through the eyes of love. I am complete and I see others through His love and can call them into the completeness He has for them.

In the natural, I have experienced the love that was portrayed in Ice Castles. The first time my husband and I were together, we held each other and never wanted to let go. We still experience this feeling over forty years later, but I also experience this with my Savior daily and know that relationship will last through eternity. I hope you all experience this eternal love and share it with those around you. I pray each of us has a deeper encounter with the Lover of our souls and experience true Shalom this side of heaven.