Seeing with new eyes

We all journey towards salvation differently but our paths all connect at the cross. At some point in our journey our eyes have to be opened to see Jesus and for Him to show us our salvation through His eyes.

Source: Nicki Edwards - WordPress.com

I was recently in hospital listening to Louis Giglio’s talk ‘Crushed by Grace’. This had a big impact upon me and I have been pondering it ever since – these thoughts come from those ponderings;

When our two boys were young we were in the habit of taking them to a local safari park maybe two or three times a year. The park was the usual mix of ‘drive through animals’, traditional zoo and fairground. Along with other families when we had seen enough animals we would migrate to the fairground rides. Our youngest son was only about three at the time and he was not able to go on any but the smallest rides however at six plus, our oldest son Tim was trying to branch out and be more adventurous. Towards the end of the day my wife took our youngest son back to the car and I took Tim to have a go on the carousel. Now I had never been on one of these rides myself and did not really appreciate the size of the machine and the motion involved – that is until the carousel started to move. I had stood there whilst Tim had climbed onto the ride and indicated an empty horse to him. He jumped on and the machinery started up. It was at this point that I realised the dangers - how fast the carousel was going to go, how big the horses were, that they were rising and falling quite a way – and that Tim had climbed on a horse with no pole to hold onto. My heart was in my mouth and as I started to panic the ride seemed to accelerate faster and faster and I was certain that Tim would be thrown off. In my distress I visualised how this would end with Tim badly hurt or worse. The trouble was that in my panic I simply could not see him. Although I searched for him I could not see him anywhere on the ride. After what seemed to be a thousand years the carousel slowed down and stopped. I still couldn’t see Tim anywhere. Then there he was – looking a bit shaken but OK. He came up to me and said ‘Dad it was a bit silly to put me on a horse with no pole – there wasn’t anything to hold onto’!

Source: From the Inside Out

Why share this story? Well it’s about seeing things in a new light. I had seen carousels before but not really appreciated their size and power or the dangers for a small boy. I had seen Tim all his life but could not see him on the ride because of my panic. In his talk, Louis speaks of his testimony – a young man walking a Christian path but really only focussed on the outside church youth activities and social aspects. He testifies that one day in a meeting that everything changed and Jesus gave him new eyes to see what salvation really was. He describes that he saw the Garden of Gethsemane through Jesus’ eyes – here was the place where Jesus signed off on a deal whereby He would be crushed and we would be free. This is an immense thing – Jesus the Eternal Word of God without whom nothing was made that was made; John 1:3 ‘All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made’, the one by whom all things are held together; Colossians 1:16-17 ‘For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together’. He came to us and at the turning point of all history in the garden of Gethsemane and prayed; Luke 22:42 ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done’. No wonder He asked the disciples to pray with Him – what a weight on His shoulders, sweating drops of blood as He agonised there. With the words ‘not My will but Yours be done’. He accepted the cross and its implications and signed off with the Father to carry out His part in the plan.

All of us make our way to the cross differently, rather like the animals making their way to the ark. Some slithered, some crawled, some ran, some trotted, some flew but there was only one door. We all journey towards salvation differently but our paths all connect at the cross. At some point in our journey our eyes have to be opened to see Jesus and for Him to show us our salvation through His eyes. Back at the carousel my eyes had to be opened to see the potential dangers unapparent to me until that time, and also to see that Tim was indeed safe – salvation was secure. In spiritual terms this is what people have called ‘revelation’ – a personal revelation of Jesus and His opening our eyes to what He has done for us (you and me). To see what He has saved us from and to see that He was ‘crushed’ for us, and through His death and resurrection, paid our debt and thereby setting us free. To some this revelation seems to come quickly at the point of their initial decision to follow Jesus but for others it takes a longer time. From my own observation, reading and listening to others it can often take more time for people who are from Christian homes, analytical thinkers, introverts and academics. (I can tick several of these boxes)! This is why the bible urges us in Jeremiah 29:13 to seek him for ourselves; ‘You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart’ and in Hebrews 11:6 ‘anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him’.

Without this revelation (seeing things through God’s eyes) there seems to be a temptation for some to start to modify their belief in God to suit themselves – without the revelation of what danger God has saved us from we can be tempted to doubt that there is a Hell or a real being called Satan who means us harm. Without the revelation of who Jesus is and what He has done we can be tempted to develop a whole series of theories and ideas about who God is and start to recreate Him in ‘our image’. If we go this way there is a chance that we end up knowing a lot about God but not actually know the Lord Himself.

Listen to the words in the ‘Housefires’ song at the end of this article; ‘I’ve heard a thousand stories of what they think you’re like (You’re a good, good Father)’ the conclusion is; ‘but You know just what we need before we say a word’. This is the comfort; He is a ‘good, good Father’ who knows just what we need. The seeking that God asks for is not a penance from a vindictive father, not a purgatory of frustration but rather it is for our sakes from a loving Father. It is so that we might divest ourselves of layers of ‘stuff’ that hinders us and find God meeting us for a deeper walk and the transformation of knowing Him; John 17:3 ‘Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent’. In John 14:23 Jesus says; ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them’. We need to find Jesus for ourselves we need to see Him with ‘new eyes’.

Author: Chris Pearson

May God bless and enrich your life

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