Through Heaven’s Eyes

Long before Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, he was a fugitive in Midian, trying to make sense of a life that had fallen apart. Moses was no longer the Egyptian prince he had been raised to be, and his future was uncertain. In The Prince of Egypt, as Moses laments his life, Jethro challenges him to see his life differently in the song “Through Heaven’s Eyes.” Perhaps a life holds more meaning than we can recognize from where we stand.

The song imagines our lives as threads in a great tapestry. A single thread reveals little on its own. Yet, when we notice how one thread meets other threads, we begin to glimpse a larger picture. We never see the whole tapestry as God does, but sometimes we see a little more than we did before.

This time of year, we remember loved ones who have died. As we think of people who have been saints in our lives, we recall their voices, laughter, habits, and the moments we wish we could share again. And such remembering offers us an opportunity. As we recognize how the threads of our lives are connected, we can begin to ask:

What did their lives make possible in ours?

Maybe someone showed us generosity simply by living generously. Maybe someone believed in us when we struggled to believe in ourselves. Maybe someone taught us to forgive, helped us discover faith, or made us feel that we belonged. Their lives shaped ours, sometimes in ways we recognize only after they are gone.

At the end of Moses’ life, Deuteronomy 34 places him on Mount Nebo, looking across the promised land. After forty years of leading the people through the wilderness, he can finally see the land—but he will not enter it. Even from that mountaintop, Moses cannot see the generations who will follow or the countless ways his story will continue to shape theirs. Even at the end of his life, Moses cannot see the whole story of his life.

Israel mourns Moses for thirty days. Then Joshua leads the people forward. The journey continues, shaped by what Moses helped make possible and sustained by the God whose faithfulness continues beyond any one lifetime.

That is true of our lives as well. We are shaped by generations before us, and our lives are shaping those who come after. We trust in God’s promise of life beyond death. But already we can glimpse something eternal in the way that love, faith, and kindness continue bearing fruit as one generation sows into the next.

Jesus calls us to make God’s love visible now. Each day, you have the opportunity to shape another person’s life by what you say and do. And so a second question arises:

What might your life make possible for those who come after you?

Somebody showed you love—so pass it on.
Somebody offered you kindness—so offer it to another.
Somebody planted seeds of faith in you—so live that faith boldly and plant seeds for someone else.
Somebody made room for you at the table—so pull up a chair for someone new.

One day, we too will stand on our own Mount Nebo, looking toward a future we will not enter. We do not need to see the whole tapestry to give our lives generously to God’s work. The story didn’t begin with us. And thanks be to God, it won’t end with us!

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Key Scriptures

Exodus 2:15–22
Deuteronomy 34:1–12

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Key Takeaways

We see only a glimpse of the whole story

Like a single thread in a tapestry, one human life cannot be fully understood in isolation. Your perspective is limited, but sometimes God grants you glimpses of how your life is connected within a much larger story. Look for the connections in the larger tapestry of life and be thankful.

Remembering reveals what others have made possible

This time of year—All Saints Day—is an opportunity to see beyond your memories of those who have died and recognize how their love, faith, generosity, and presence helped shape who you have become.

An unfinished life is not a life without meaning

Moses never entered the promised land, yet his life helped make a future possible for generations after him. Your life may also bear fruit beyond what you will ever see or accomplish.

Your life continues to shape generations after you

The people who came before you live on in meaningful ways through the lives they influenced. Their stories become part of yours, just as your story will become part of the lives of those who follow.

The love you receive is yours to pass on

Following Jesus means making God’s love visible in the world today. The kindness, faith, forgiveness, and welcome you have received become opportunities to bless others and participate in God’s continuing work.

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Questions for Reflection

Whose life has helped shape the person you are today? What did that person make possible in your life?

When you remember someone you have lost, what connection or influence can you now recognize that you may not have noticed while they were alive?

What does Moses’ experience on Mount Nebo teach you about hopes that remain unfinished and the meaning of a faithful life?

How does thinking of your life as one thread in a much larger tapestry change the way you understand your place in God’s story?

What love, kindness, faith, or welcome have you received that you could intentionally pass on to someone else this week?

What might God make possible through your life for people and generations you may never meet?