Wash My Eyes (Week 3)
Are we blind to the way God created us to see? When did we start seeing the ugly rather than the good? We are all guilty of it. I see a girl with tattoos and body piercings dressed in black, and I wonder why she is like that. "She must have had a rought family life," I think to myself.
God did not intend for us to see how people are dying but rather inteded us to pull out life in our world. When man was first created, Adam and Eve enjoyed an abundance of life in the Garden of Eden. Centered in the middle of this lucsious garden were two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9). God only prohibited man from the latter of the two (Genesis 2:16). The tree of life was for man to enjoy. Then the serpent came and offered Eve something mankind already had. He told her she would become more like God(Genesis 3:5), but we know from Genesis 1:26-27 that man was created in His image. The fall of mankind brought knowledge of sin, and introduced self-centeredness and seperation from God. Still, God loves us so much and wants life so baldy for us that He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and bring us back to fullness (John 3:16-17).
Now that Jesus died for us, what keeps us from fullness of life? Our focus on sin, not sin itself, prevents us from truly experiencing fullness, and we tend to spend our energy trying to fix it. Ironically, the has already been fixed through the blood of Jesus. There is nothing more we can do to earn salvation. It is simply a gift out of love that we must accept. It is our love for God in return that nurtures a desire to follow Him. Jesus, of course, is a perfect example of how to live this love out. When Jesus asked us to follow Him, He desired us to see life and others through His eyes.
First, we must understand that life in Christ is about discovery not destination. No end point exists to life in an infinite God, and understanding that God is everywhere and in everything leads us to a fresh perception. Last week I met two homeless people hanging out near the beach of Pa'ia. Of course, my first instinct was to figure out why they were homeless. I assumed drugs were a part of the problem. As we went deeper into conversation, I saw characteristics of God shine through them. I realized that God loves these two people just as much as He loves me. In two monthsI will be in a nation that is 85% Muslim. These people may not know or accept to loving God I know, but He is visible in them through the hospitality and generosity of their culture. God wants us to see life.
Mark 8:22-26 tells a story about how Jesus restored sight to a blind man through not one, but two eye washings. My prayer for us is that God may spit on our eyes each day, restoring our ability to see life the way He intended for us.
God did not intend for us to see how people are dying but rather inteded us to pull out life in our world. When man was first created, Adam and Eve enjoyed an abundance of life in the Garden of Eden. Centered in the middle of this lucsious garden were two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9). God only prohibited man from the latter of the two (Genesis 2:16). The tree of life was for man to enjoy. Then the serpent came and offered Eve something mankind already had. He told her she would become more like God(Genesis 3:5), but we know from Genesis 1:26-27 that man was created in His image. The fall of mankind brought knowledge of sin, and introduced self-centeredness and seperation from God. Still, God loves us so much and wants life so baldy for us that He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and bring us back to fullness (John 3:16-17).
Now that Jesus died for us, what keeps us from fullness of life? Our focus on sin, not sin itself, prevents us from truly experiencing fullness, and we tend to spend our energy trying to fix it. Ironically, the has already been fixed through the blood of Jesus. There is nothing more we can do to earn salvation. It is simply a gift out of love that we must accept. It is our love for God in return that nurtures a desire to follow Him. Jesus, of course, is a perfect example of how to live this love out. When Jesus asked us to follow Him, He desired us to see life and others through His eyes.
First, we must understand that life in Christ is about discovery not destination. No end point exists to life in an infinite God, and understanding that God is everywhere and in everything leads us to a fresh perception. Last week I met two homeless people hanging out near the beach of Pa'ia. Of course, my first instinct was to figure out why they were homeless. I assumed drugs were a part of the problem. As we went deeper into conversation, I saw characteristics of God shine through them. I realized that God loves these two people just as much as He loves me. In two monthsI will be in a nation that is 85% Muslim. These people may not know or accept to loving God I know, but He is visible in them through the hospitality and generosity of their culture. God wants us to see life.
Mark 8:22-26 tells a story about how Jesus restored sight to a blind man through not one, but two eye washings. My prayer for us is that God may spit on our eyes each day, restoring our ability to see life the way He intended for us.
posted by Lindsay at 10:15 AM
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