spiritual visine
“We let people dictate the framework through which we know God rather than God being the framework through which we know ourselves and others.”
My friend Tracee wrote that to me in an email, surreptitiously tucked away in the middle of a paragraph. I tried to keep reading, but I couldn’t. I had to linger there a while before I could move on. Because she’s right. I’ve allowed people and the experiences of my life to shape my view of God, rather than the other way around.
Since people are fallible and hurts are inevitable, seeing God through the lens of my past makes Him appear far too small. Far too human. Far too unloving. I imagine Him responding like so many others have; I picture Him treating me the way I treat myself.
I see God with clouded vision. And I want to see Him clearly.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the past several months identifying my lenses. Naming them. Considering what triggers them. Pondering how things look without them. And asking God to remove them.
Because my lenses stem from wounds, fears, and insecurities deep inside me, this process has challenged me to be more vulnerable than ever before. That’s been hard. And scary. But my vulnerability has been met with an intimacy I’ve never known.
God is so very good to me.
I desire to live with Him as my lens. I want Him to be the filter through which I see and experience life. That would change everything about how I think, feel, respond, act. So I’m trying to renew my mind, take captive every thought, and soak myself in His truth. I want to saturate myself with His character, His heart. The more I know Him, the more I will see through His lens rather than my own.
While I still fail miserably most of the time—old habits, they die hard—I am changing. Slowly but surely my lenses are wearing thinner. And He is coming more into focus.
My intention today, and every day, is to know Him more deeply and intimately. Because ultimately I don’t want to be a better version of me. I want to be more like Christ.
That is one seriously powerful statement! I need to chew on that a little today too :) love you!
Wow… This is awesome.
My friend we wrote about the EXACT same thing today.
If this isn’t God.
http://allm92.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/how-good-is-your-vision/
I love you fiercely take heed what your friend sent in their email. It’s powerful and so very true.
O’ by the way I still owe you an email.
loving you deeply
You know, there are the blog entries out there that you read that challenge you.
And then there are blog entries where EVERY WORD challenges you. That you read over and over, and print out and save.
This is one of them.
Powerful teaching. I love reading all of these insights and revelations that are just flowing out of your heart. Great vulnerability leads to great intimacy.
“Wash me in the water of the Word” comes to mind. Praying for you. Loving you!
you’ve given me something to think about every time I pull out my real glasses and place them on my face. thanks for challenging me, kitty.
I’d like to re-enter that lens store together, venti’s in hand… an afternoon of fun!
Amen!
One word.
Purpose.
wow.
“When my daily deeds ordinarily lose life and song,
My heart begins to bleed, sensitivity to Him is gone.
I’ve run the race, but kept my pace and face a shattered soul,
But the gentle arms of Jesus warm my hungering to be whole.
Oh, I want to know You more!
Deep within my soul, I want to know You…
To feel Your heart and know Your mind,
Looking in Your eyes stirs up within me,
Cries that say I want to know You.
Oh, I want to know You more…”
~Steve Green
Back in the day, when I was a “super-Christian” this was a song I sang in church. He took me up on this prayer and I’ve been “not-so-super” since. But that’s okay. I’m getting to know Him more…
exhale. smile. do a little dance.
“We let people dictate the framework through which we know God rather than God being the framework through which we know ourselves and others.”
In many ways, I used to have the same problem. I think I’ve made some progress in the last few decades, but when I read your Essay, I realized I have a long way to go.
I love you friend…you are amazing. Thank you for so generously sharing your thoughts day in and day out. My vision is so very cloudy right now and I am distant from the things that I need to cling to. Thank you for these words…they have ministered to me this day.
It’s crazy when you feel like you’re the only one who feels a certain way. That you should be judgmental towards others (in your head) and you see people because of who they are and not because of who God is. You (as well as Tracee) hit the spot. Thank you for bringing clarity and understanding to this because it just makes too much sense… and that’s always annoying… it always make way too much sense. Praise Him for making it that way!
great visual.
this made me think a lot and man it was deep.
real deep.
i love you and tracee’s words dude.
so MUCH WISOM.
Gods a pimp DUDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDE :)
hahah bust out laughing right about now.
In my fight against my lenses and things that keep me in blinded, i have been stuck on Jer. 9:24 -
24 but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the LORD.
What matters in boasting is understanding and knowing Him. That is so freeing to me. In my weakness he makes life out of me. In understanding and knowing him my crap surfaces in the light. That is so dang freeing. Hard has all get out, but so dang freeing!
Your heart is so great friend. what you have to offer through your heart that is knowing him is something to boast about!
dily
Yeah.
Your friend Tracee wrote something brilliant and thought-provoking… and you, my friend, took it deeper into the soul. I need to let that settle in, but there is no doubt I need some visine.
Wow… why did my comment go way up into that thread? Hmm…
weird. something got jacked up with a recent move to a different server… and it unthreaded all the nested comments… maybe that caused this glitch too?! i don’t know!
Alece,
I loved this–I had to share it with my friends. I love that song (is it Brandon Heath?) Give Me Your Eyes…Because we do miss so much that God would have us see, because we’re looking through eyes that have been deceived, betrayed, lied to, hurt and bruised. But God would ask us to see through eyes that love, are healed and eyes that offer forgiveness…
Thank you!
mmmm… i love brandon heath…
welcome to the grit, linda!
Wow, what a challenge
i’ve been camped in john 9 a lot lately… i think it’s amazing to see how His Spirit is whispering similar things in people’s hearts.
love you, heidi.
that was a good day. and man, that seems like a lifetime ago.
i never got to tell you: we now have matching glasses. they couldn’t adjust mine to keep my eyelashes from hitting the lenses… after multiple visits and countless tries, they finally told me i needed to pick a new pair. (they actually said i needed to “restyle”, and i couldn’t help but think how much more than my glasses need a restyle… but that’s a whole other thought…) so i went with my initial runner-up… which happens to be the one you chose. hope you don’t mind that we match, kitty!
“for my determined purpose is that i may know Him…”
you don’t need to be a super-christian to know Him more.
which is certainly good news for me.
get down tonight.
get down tonight.
as do i. i always will. i’m trying to stay focused on simply taking steps, making progress.
“He must increase, but i must decrease.” if that happens even ever-so-slightly every day, that’s good progress.
thank you for consistently speaking wisdom and truth to me. and for helping me process through it all.
[morethanthegrit.]
I hope i do.
[really?]
areyoufrickinkiddingme?!
hahahaha
youcrackmethefrickup!
well good.
Me too.
As a “super” Christian, my pride was too full to see Him clearly.