Veritas and Vision

It's the one possession of mine that I value the most, yet it's the one I think about the least. I take it for granted, I forget it exists, but I absolutely require it every day. I cannot function without it. 

My glasses.

I only have one pair. I cannot see without them.

So it is with the Word of God. Without the truth, all I can see is a distorted picture of what the world insists is reality. The Scriptures reveal what is and what isn't. 

For example.

The world tells me beauty is defined by the skinniness of my legs, the hourglass symmetry of my waist, and the clarity of my skin. However, we are all still "beautiful" on the inside, even though we all know that's not really true (but nobody says so), and we do have a defined picture of beauty (which is ingrained into us by the world to begin with and without God is impossible to overhaul). Without social media, streams of pretty "selfies," and funny videos, how am I ever going to gain friends, though? Besides, love is simply a physical attraction culminating in a sexual encounter, and when I get tired of those things or the "chemistry fades," I am fully entitled to walk away. Love is also based on my feelings. People are good at the core and don't need God; after all, he doesn't exist anyway, for if he did, why is there so much pain? I can live, laugh, and love and be fully fulfilled and happy. 

At the core of these statements dwell falsehoods. Lies. Untruths. 

Author and speaker Ravi Zacharias once put it this way: "Truth is the perfect perception of reality." Without the truth, without our eyes being opened by the Bible, all we can see are lies. Why else do broken young women seek love in broken young men and wonder, when the door slams, what went wrong? Why do the hardiest party-ers feel endless emptiness and loneliness despite being surrounded by "happy" people? How come popularity truly fulfills no one? Why don't alcohol and stylish clothing and drugs solve my problems? How come everything my culture tells me to do doesn't work?

Answer? Because the world has fed us lies. And they only lead to dead ends.

I've been reflecting a lot recently on what Paul told the church at Colossae about such things. He writes in 2:8, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than Christ." I confess that I've heard and read this verse many times. In fact, I've read and heard many verses many times, but I can't say that I've digested them and took them in as reality and truth. I've looked at the glasses sitting on the table and talked about how much I need them without actually putting them on! I've caught myself, by God's grace, buying into the empty lies of this world. 

I'm recalling a piercing conversation with a friend several months ago about "head" vs. "heart" knowledge. Most have heard the terms tossed about in Christian circles. They refer to God's truths from the Word that you know or have studied versus truths that you feel compelled by or are living out "from your heart" (baloney, I know now). He told me there was no such thing in the Bible as I vehemently insisted that my personal experience proved otherwise. He looked me in the face and said, "Maybe you just aren't applying what you've learned. Maybe you don't really know these truths from the Word, because if you did, you would be living them out." That is the ticket! We can hold a pair of glasses, admire them, tell everyone on planet earth that we see by them, but if we do not put them on, we are living the same distorted reality as everyone else who is still a slave to sin and the world!

Without understanding that everything the world gives us is a lie, we still attempt to justify walking in sinful paths. Unless we pray earnestly for the Spirit to examine our hearts (Psalm 26:2, 139:23), we could still be believing the falsehoods of the world without even realizing it. If we do not truly live by the Word of God, the only perfect reality and the only truth that tells us what's really going on, we will be seduced. 

Look at the Word. Put the glasses on and see. Things are not as they seem, and God says so. 

Ticks and Tantrums

Living in the Northwoods, there is a constant expectation that your day will, at some point, be rudely interrupted by a grotesque and hideous monster known formally as Ixodes Scapularis. In laymen's terms, you may know them as ticks. My count this summer is seven, one being a deer tick (known for carrying Lyme disease) and one deciding to show up on the back of my neck at 11:37pm in the middle of my shower.

Gross gross gross gross gross.

A lot about life is gross. People can leave a sour taste in our mouths. Memories can disgust us and the news can make us want to throw up or run away. When the ticks of our days invade our carefully cultivated comfortable spaces, we are faced with the decision on how we're going to handle them.

Conflict resolution, anyone?

I believe there are three ways to handle these things. The first way was so aptly and sadly demonstrated by an 8-year-old boy at the toy store yesterday. As I rang up his grandmother's purchase, he began to whine and complain to her about wanting a toy that he already had. She was impatient; he was grabbing her arm; the whining increased to what I will call "scene-making" level. The tantrum had officially started.

That's way No. 1: throw a fit. Whack out. Scream and throw things and yell and explode in an attempt to get rid of the problem and get life back on track the way you want it.

Secondly, we can do the opposite. We can run away, or, if that's not possible, pretend it never happened. When the fight happens, the ugliness is revealed, the words are spat out, some folks' initial reaction is to metaphorically plug their ears and say "la la la....not listening!" In Edith Wharton's classic Age of Innocence, the plot centers around a young gentleman's upcoming marriage in late-19th century New York. The upper-crust society thrives on rules, the chiefest being a strict avoidance policy of anything unpleasant. Newland Archer, the protagonist, is forced to grapple with this culture built upon embracing trivialities and ignoring confrontation, interruption, and problems.

But, what does Christ call us to do? How are we called to deal with life's interruptions in a God-honoring way? I believe the answer lies in the Apostle James's letter. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance" (1:2-3).

There we go. When the "ticks" invade, we are to face them with joy, because we are told the effect they will have on our spiritual lives! Strengthened faith. Endurance. Reliance on the Lord. It may be gross, it may be hard, it may be terrible. Your natural inclination is probably going to be to run away, freak out, or staple a smile to your broken visage, but as Christians we are called to something higher and better and more rewarding. We gain nothing if we revert back to the flesh; our faith can't grow unless we obey and walk in a manner worthy of how we've been called. If we do not trust that God's instructions are for our eternal benefit (and that he will guide and empower us through the Spirit to obey those instructions), help me understand how you expect to mature in your faith?

My Savior once said, "If you love me, obey my commands" (John 14:15). We are to fix our eyes on Christ and face life's interruptions with joy, not only because God tells us to, but because we can know and anticipate the spiritual results of our trials! Who doesn't want a more intimate relationship with our Lord? If it takes an ocean of ticks for me to know and love God more, bring it.