Last month, I was
privileged to speak at a Valentine’s event at the MacGregor EMC church. I shared some fun and fascinating optical illusions. We talked about stunt doubles and
deceptive advertising and rearview mirrors. Things are not as they appear.
When it comes to
matters of faith, this concept is truer than anywhere else. Faith is hard.
Faith, by definition, is based on things we cannot see. If we could see them,
it wouldn’t be faith. We wouldn’t need faith.
We looked at three
times in the Bible when all was not as it appeared. When things were, in fact,
far better than they seemed:
·
when God opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant to
see the vast army of angels fighting for them;
·
when Jesus taught his disciples that the poor
widow’s two small coins were worth more than the rich people’s large offerings;
·
when a grieving and confused Mary encountered
the resurrected Christ.
I suspect there are
things in your life that are not as they appear. Maybe it appears to you that
God has let you down in some way. Your finances appear impossible. Your
marriage appears empty, lonely. Your children are not walking with God and from
what you can see, they are nowhere near desiring him in their lives. There are
things you have prayed about for years. Healing. Restoration. Relationships.
Freedom. It appears as though God is not answering your prayers. Maybe even
turned his back. Maybe doesn’t care.
Can I assure you
that things are not as they appear?
We walk by faith,
not by sight. Right now, we don’t understand why things go the way they go. We
cannot figure it out no matter how hard we try, and sometimes our conclusion is
to give up on God or even the idea of God.
But let me ask you
something. Do you really want a god you can figure out? I can’t even figure out
my husband. I can’t figure out myself half the time! If I had a god I could
figure out, a god with no mystery to him, he would need to be far simpler than
I am. What comfort would that be? Romans 8:24 says “… but hope that is seen is
no hope at all…”
 |
| The two grandpas |
It’s been
interesting to observe each of our grandsons notice for the first time that
Grandpa has only one arm. When we visited Linus in Calgary last summer, it was his
turn to have that conversation. While here for Christmas, Linus looked at Jon
and said, “yeah, my other grandpa has only one arm, too.”
We happen to know
his Grandpa Phil, who lives on the west coast and has two good arms. But when
you see these two similar-looking grandpas, factor in the geography and
infrequent visits for both, it’s easy to see how a four-year-old could be
confused. What is simple for us makes no sense to him. He cannot yet see like
we see.
Things are not as
they seem. But a day is coming. Your eyes will be open. You will get to see
those angel armies that have surrounded you and protected you and fought for
you all your days. You will get to see the difference you made in the lives of
others when you gave your all, even though it felt like very little. And you
will get to see the living Lord with your own eyes. You will hear him say your
name with your own ears.
And you will have
perfect, 20/20 spiritual vision.
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