The Wide Lens

Arthur Schopenhauer said, "Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world."

We walk through life almost as if we have blinders on. It's like we only see what concerns us and even then maybe not clearly if it's not we want to see anyways. One thing God has been working on me with is seeing my world through the wide lens of His Resurrection.

The Resurrection of Christ to some may seem like a fairy-tale, and if honest, at points in my life it seemed like something out of yesteryear, not relevant to me. But for those of us, who have come to know Christ, His resurrection has given us hope, given us life, no, has given us new life. With the resurrection Christ has defeated all that is bad in this world. With the resurrection Christ has given the opportunity for renewal for every person.

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only
Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him,
anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of
sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it
was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is
acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death
sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to
believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him." John 3:16-18
The Message

The world was different after the Resurrection. Something had changed. And for those who believe it has become reality for them. For me it has become my salvation. I have been given new life.

What we too often forget to do though is to see our world in light of the resurrection. We walk through our day with blinders to those around us because we fail to see them in light of Christ's resurrection. You probably thinking what the heck is Sharon talking about.

In verses about we are told that Christ came for the world, the whole world, that no one need be destroyed. The resurrection lived out and applied to our lives should affect us in such a way that we see with the eyes of Christ. We should see that every person is His, and He's not willing that one of them should parrish.

Seeing through the wide lens of resurrection doesn't mean that we have to see everything, although wouldn't that be great. It means "Lord, give me the eyes to see what's right in front of me." Give me the eyes to see what you see in each circumstance I face, in each relationship I'm in, in each moment that I'm given. Give me your eyes to see the love you have for them, no matter how different they are from me or how much they are the same. Give me your eyes to look upon them with unconditional love, the unconditional love that you gave me.

Something else that God is driving home for me is that the world is full of problems and needs. And even those things that I do see, might not be mine to fix. I like to fix things. I love to interject and try to move things forward. But maybe not everything that God shows me is mine to do something about, maybe it's mine to find someone else to do it or maybe its just mine to pray about. This is discernment. We have to learn to understand why God does reveal things to us and what we are supposed to do with that revelation.

It maybe something direct and simple and we may know just what to do. You know, you see a homeless man, you give him food or shelter. But maybe it's not, maybe it's huge. Maybe it's a life-changing situation for not just those in front of you but for many around. It is in these times that we must learn to understand and discern, not only what we see with the eyes of God, but what to do with what we saw.

And the simplest answer for me is I wasn't shown whatever it may have been to be a judge. I was shown it to show the love of Christ, perhaps to have a moment to be Christ to that person and in Christ there is no condemnation, there is love. Perfect love.