A woman walks into an optician to return a pair of glasses that she purchased for her husband a week before. The assistant asks, “What seems to be the problem, Madam?” The woman replies, “I’m returning these glasses I bought for my husband. He’s still not seeing things my way.”
Often we want to see things “our way”. God wants us to see things as they are. When we see things through Spiritual eyes we often recognize the blessings among what may seem like, and what may be, tough circumstances.
How else can we look at life through “Spiritual Eyes”? We can recognize that the visible troubles & hard times in our life are not worth comparing to the invisible glory that we receive as we follow Jesus. Life changes, there are peaks and valleys. As we look at our lives we have this constant up and down effect that can be easily seen.
Peaks like getting our first job, falling in love, having a child. Valleys like When a job doesn’t work out, when a relationship sours, raising a child (this can be full of peaks and valleys in itself!) Then there are the day-to-day peaks and valleys: Peaks like a nice sunny day, eating a hot meal, getting a new bike or car, freedom. Valleys like the storms in our life, having to go hungry, having something stolen, being locked up or bound by an addiction. I could go on and on.
BUT HERE’S THE TREASURE!!!!!!!! Put on your “Spiritual glasses” and look with me. As we look at our lives and recognize these sharp peaks and valleys, the valleys can often be tough, but as these things are wasting away in our lives, with Christ by our side, as we continue to be renewed in His presence by trusting in Him, by keeping Him close at our side through the climbs up the mountains in or lives, by living in God’s will rather than our own, THE VALLEYS BECOME HILLS. The journey is easier. There is always a bright shining light coming up over the horizon–God’s Glory in our lives–the promise and hope of an eternal presence with Him.
The journey to get there becomes a tour–not a forced march. So very often as we start to peak out in one way or another and we start to go down into that valley we try to go it alone. We so very often turn away from Christ in these tough times rather than LEAN ON JESUS for comfort and strength, rather than LOOK FOR GOD’S WISDOM AS TO WHAT TO DO. Turn your sharp peaks and valleys into hills.
2 Corinthians 4:17 (TNIV)
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
We can also recognize that our visible existence is not worth comparing to that which is unseen, our eternal existence with God, our every day and eternal existence with Jesus in our hearts.
In 2 Corinthians 4:18, the apostle Paul tells us, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
As we start looking at our life and life in general with our “Spiritual glasses” on, we find treasures outside ourselves in our relationship with God, with Jesus. We often find that the peaks and valleys in our lives get smaller. We find a comfort in not being alone, a comfort in knowing that Jesus is with us through the tough times as well as the good times. We start putting behind us the mistakes that we have made and ask for forgiveness, in religious terms we call this repentance, and when we do this…. God forgives! We start doing the right things because they are right to do, in religious terms we call this “obedience to God”. I call this “Understanding that God knows us better than we know us and shares his wisdom in life for us to follow”. We start living in the Kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven–
Listen to the Gospel of Mark 1:14-15, “…Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’
Listen also to the Gospel of Luke 17:20-21, “Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” [or among you and within you]
I pray that you will take those Spiritual glasses off the shelf and wear them everywhere you go, that you will see what God sees’…..a love for His children that is timeless, a beauty in every creature and all of creation. I DO believe that in this age…..that if you don’t like glasses….you can wear contacts. The key is see through another lens.
Thanks Jan, Amen to that!