Month: September 2014

Eyes That See

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What do you see when you look at someone?  I was told recently that one of the first things that people notice about you is your shoes.  Maybe, but I would think it might depend on what is important to you.

Of course, a shoe salesperson would probably notice our shoes.  But, a hair stylist would likely notice our hair.  An athlete would notice our muscles.  An optometrist would notice our glasses or contacts.  A clothing salesperson would notice our clothes.  A dental hygienist would notice our teeth.  A car dealer would notice our car.  A Realtor would notice our house.  You get the idea!

But there is more to what we see.  Men would notice particular characteristics about men, and different attributes about ladies.  Conversely, ladies would notice certain characteristics about ladies, and different qualities about men.  Our age could very likely cause us to notice unique characteristics in the people we see.  But is there still more?

I remember getting on an elevator at the hospital one day with a family member of someone having surgery.  After we exited, the family member told me that she was fascinated about how I stood in an elevator full of people.  Why?  Because she was in the elevator business!

In case you are wondering if I was standing on my head, I wasn’t.  But, I was standing facing the people in the elevator rather than facing the door!  I’m pretty sure I don’t normally do that, and that I had no particular reason to stand facing the people that day, it just turned out that way and I didn’t give it a thought.

This family member went on to say that I had validated the research of people in the elevator business.  They had found that only people from a handful of careers (preachers was one of them) would be comfortable facing people in the close confines of an elevator!  Accordingly, the inside of elevator doors should look as good as possible!

But we may be seeing just the tip of the iceberg of what and how we see!  Do you have eyes that see what Jesus saw?  Did Jesus notice what kind of sandals people wore?  Or, how they styled their hair?  Or, what kind of clothes they had on?  Or, how nice their teeth were?  Or, what breed of donkey they were riding?

I’ve noticed Jesus saw at least a couple of things that I often miss.  Jesus had eyes that saw when people were harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36).  Wow, what does that look like?  Would I even notice that if I was looking for it?

Jesus also had eyes to see faith (Mark 2:5).  We often think faith is an internal, invisible quality.  Yet when we read about the people in the “faith chapter” of the Bible, Hebrews 11, we see that their faith obeyed, offered, pleased, sacrificed, built, left, blessed, spoke, worked and so much more!  Their actions made their faith visible.  Do you see what Jesus sees?

Afraid, But Not Enough

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A few years ago we built an enclosed storage area near our house.  Not long afterward I was moving things around looking for something when this unpleasant thought crossed my mind: “Snakes would probably like to nest in this space!”  While I had never seen a snake, or any evidence of one in this area, just the possibility of it would quicken my heart rate, and my rummaging speed, every time I opened the door!blackratsnake040924-1479gate10z

It wasn’t too long before I decided I should do something to minimize the potential of encountering a slithering reptile in my storage area!  So after doing some research on the various methods and products available for repelling these repulsive creatures, I purchased a granular snake repellent at a local hardware store.

Now all I had to do was to spread the repellent around the walls of the storage space.  It was guaranteed that snakes would not cross it.  I immediately thought of two concerns: First, I would have to move all the items in storage away from the walls so that I could pour out the repellent as directed.  But what if I already had snakes hiding in the stuff I would be moving?  I wasn’t too excited about the idea of moving things around and raising the ire of any snakes that may have already made my storage area their home!

Secondly, what if I had snakes living in the center of the storage area?  I might not disturb them while moving the stuff around the perimeter, but what if the repellent ended up keeping them from escaping my building?  Worse, what if the repellent infuriated them to the point that my hypothetical snakes became more aggressive than normal?

A few days ago I noticed my snake repellent container sitting in a corner of my storage area.  I had never opened it!  I had feared snakes enough to buy the repellent, and to store it in my storage area, but I didn’t fear the slithering reptiles enough to use the repellent as directed!  Bottom line: Unless snakes can read what it says on the container, I might as well set out a liter of Dr. Pepper!

Before you take me to task on my vacillation, let me suggest this is a fairly common trait among us humans!  If not so much in buying snake repellents, I see it often in “buying fire insurance.”  It’s a term some folks use to describe doing religious practices intended to appease God and avoid hell.  Token activities like merely going to church, coming down to the altar, repeating a rote prayer, or even being baptized will not “buy” anyone anything!

If we really want to repel snakes, we are going to have to go all-in and follow the directions wholeheartedly having faith it will work!  Accordingly, if we want to appease God and avoid hell, we are going to have to go all-in and follow Jesus wholeheartedly having faith He will work!

 

Where Are You Going?

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flight planning on chart           You will never get lost if you always know where you are and where you are going!  I used that statement often when I taught flying.  After all, present position is a simple extension of where one has been in the past, combined with the direction and speed one has traveled since the last known position.

For instance, pilots always know the airport they are departing from.  And as long as they kept track of their time in flight and the direction and speed they were heading, then they would always know their approximate position, even if they couldn’t always pinpoint it on a map.

Then each time they could positively identify their present position on the map, the navigating process would start all over again.  They were always a given number of minutes away from their last known position, and they had been flying a given direction and speed.  So even when they were in between positive identifications of their location on a map, they still had an approximate idea of where they were, and where they were going.

Unfortunately my students didn’t always know how the winds aloft would affect their direction and speed, and because they often wandered from their desired heading, they would get off course.  But once they determined how much they were off course, I would teach them how to make course corrections to get them back on course to ensure they would reach their ultimate destination; before running out of fuel.  Obviously, everything they were doing before the flight and during the flight, should be a means to getting them safely to their destination airport!

Have you ever been lost?  Do you know where you came from?  Do you know where you are?  Do you know where you are going?  Can you get where you want to go on the direction you are presently traveling?  If you want to go to the Atlantic Ocean, you must proceed on an easterly course.  If you are heading on a westerly course, you will never make it!

Some people tell me they want to go to heaven, yet they want to get there maintaining a  misguided course.  Sadly, if their present course is not heading in heaven’s direction, they will never make it!  They must make a course correction before they run out of fuel, or miss heaven forever.  Since heaven is God’s home, He alone has the prerogative to advise us on the required course to get there.

The only course that will take you to heaven is to aim for Jesus Christ!  He said that He was the only way to the Father, and the only way to the Father’s eternal home in heaven.  Reaching heaven will only be by God’s grace, through your faith in God’s Son alone.  Are you heading the wrong direction, or just off course?  Since your fuel is limited, get on course today by turning from anyone or anything, to Jesus alone!