Choosing the Right Lens

Christianity is a way of seeing.

Years ago, as God was wooing me into the kingdom the world and everything in it seemed disjointed. Why am I in school studying math when people are starving in India? Why is this man who seems so kind…blind? Why do grown men lay on park benches wreaking of alcohol? Why did God allow my mom to be deaf? Why am I living in the inner-city of Chicago??

I go to school to learn English, science, math, history and geography. Wby?

Is there anything in life that ties together the joys and sorrows, and the bits and pieces of life? Is there some invisible string or wisdom that ties everything together giving life meaning??

Then it happened.

My mother made me go to a nearby church where I heard the gospel and my eyes were opened!!!

As C. S. Lewis stated, “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not because I see it. But because by it I see everything else.”

This way of seeing is a life journey!!

Since God is the Creator of all that is visible and invisible and holds it all together by the power of His Word…He is the reference point for all of life.

He is the invisible string!!

The migration of birds, butterflies and fish, the precision of mathematics, the beauty of sunsets, the lofty mountains and the flowering meadows, and the babbling brooks all point to a God of wisdom who has ordained them all.

There are many lenses by which we can view ourselves and the world.

The lens of being a woman, a wife, a lover of history, sports or the arts. We can look through the lens of our vocation, our economic status or even the place where we live. I also find the longer I live, the easier it is to see myself through the lens of my many sins and shortcomings. My identity can be so wrapped up in my brokenness, that I forget who I am in Christ!!!!

This week I have been focusing on viewing myself and the world through the lens of God’s Word.

Who am I? Why are things the way they are??

Going back to who God is, what He has done, and who He says I am changes everything!!!

Someone shared a simple thought with me last week and it just blew me away.

Before the worlds were created, there was God. The Father, the Son and the Spirit dwelling together in perfect love and unity. God is eternal and omniscient meaning He knows all things past, present and future. That means in eternity past, before God made the heavens and the earth, He knew my name and He knew your name!!!

Take some time and read Psalm 8:3-9 and Psalm 139. Pour over God’s Word and let His words sink in.

At the right time and in the right place, God called you and I into existence because of His great love!!!

This is who we are.

We are men and women made in the image of God and loved by Him. This is our identity. It is from this place of being deeply loved by God that we go out into the world and love others.

Paul prays that we would be able to wrap our minds around the love of God, and that we would be “rooted and grounded” in His love. (Eph. 3:17)

It is from this place of seeing that we view the world.

If you are like me, you will find various lenses laying on the table. A skewed lens leads to a skewed view. How important to pick up the right lens!