Roast of the Day: Medium Roast
I recently posted a summary of this blog on my Facebook "thankful" posts, but I still believe it is worth a read...
I still remember the day in the fourth grade when I received the news that I needed to get eyeglasses. Our class had just taken the mandatory eye exam given by the school nurse, and I guess I failed (I should have been listening closer to the person reading off the chart in front of me). Anyway, I remember coming home from school in tears, realizing that this one event was going to change my life forever. Okay...I may have been a bit over dramatic at the time, but what can you expect, I was in the fourth grade.
What I failed to realize at the time was that those eyeglasses would vastly improve my vision. It wasn't until I put on these new glasses that I truly understood how bad my vision had been. For any of you that have experienced this phenomenon, you know what I'm talking about. Everything instantly became clearer and crisper. I could make out all of the jagged edges on the leaves of the trees, my perspective of things seemed so much clearer, and even the colors seemed more vivid. At the time, it was hard for me to believe that I hadn't noticed what I was missing earlier.
I believe there is quite a parallel here to our faith. Many of us are walking through our daily lives in a blur and we don't even know it. We are so used to 'seeing' things from our current perspective and we are missing out on the perfect 'vision' that God can provide. When we make the decision to put our faith in Christ, it's like putting on those eyeglasses for the first time. Our 'vision' becomes so much clearer and crisper, which transcends all areas of our lives.
As I am learning, however, we cannot simply put on our first pair of eyeglasses and be done with it. Over the past 40 some odd years, I've had to continually get my eyes re-examined - because over time, my eyes grow lazy and my vision slowly deteriorates. Without those eye examinations and my new prescriptions, I would slip back into settling for vision that is less than perfect. So, I believe, it is with our faith walk.
If we want to continue to make a difference and 'see' things through God's perspective, we must take the time for our own 'I' exams. These 'I-examinations', as I have labeled them, should be things that challenge us in our walk, such as getting involved in a local church, becoming part of a small group, a commitment to read God's word, a mission trip, any number of things that will push us to 'see' the heart of God with more clarity and get His perspective.
So, I will leave you with this last thought to ponder, "When was your last 'I-exam'?"
