Seeing Between the Blinks of the Eye

My father once said that the seeing of God is not like the seeing of man. Man sees only between the blinks of his eyes. He does not know what the world is like during the blinks. He sees the world in pieces, in fragments. But the Master of the Universe sees the world whole, unbroken. That world is good. Our seeing is broken, Asher Lev. Can we make it like the seeing of God? Is that possible?

Chiam Potok - The Gift of Asher Lev

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.  1 Cor. 13:12 ESV

There is a piece of artwork displayed in the art gallery of my mind. Regretfully, I do not have the skill with either camera or paint to take it from my mind and reproduce it for you out in the open. I will try to sketch it roughly with words.

It is a picture of a mosaic constructed from mirrored fragments. The bright mirrored pieces are separated by dark opaque spaces. Reflected in the mirrors is a face, fractured and distorted by the dark cracks between the mirrors.

That is life for a human in this age. This world is broken. All we see is reflected in that broken mirror, fractured by the cracks.

Sometimes even the light reflected in the mosaic is indistinct in my vision. All I can see is the negative space, the darkness in between. I see broken relationships, sealed with anger. I see broken bodies, wracked with pain. I see souls imprisoned, sentenced to the solitary confinement of loneliness. I see hate and even worse, apathy. I see cruelty. I see evil, though I can only bear to see it for a second before I close my mind to its horror. There is One does not close his eyes to these things, not even to blink.

Sometimes I focus on the reflected light. A fragment of a small child's unselfconscious delight in his mommy, a shard of shared laughter, a chunk of pure intimacy. There is One who sees all this, and all else. He sees without the dark cracks, without distortion because he is the Word "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."   (Rev.1:8, ESV)

It is possible, at least partially possible, to see through someone else's eyes. It happens most notably with old people, husbands and wives who love each other well over two lifetimes. As the end of their time together draws to a close, sometimes they glimpse the world as the other sees it, before a dark crack of noise, or hunger, or pain breaks the view. We can see clearly, for a moment, if we see through the eyes of the Alpha and Omega. If we get quiet, and spend a lot of time in His presence, we sometimes glimpse the world as He sees it.

He not only sees fully, He knows fully. He gazes in person, at the explosion of a supernova, as bright as a billion suns. With his naked eye he sees the empty space between the nucleus of an atom and its electrons orbiting. He sees, unblinking, what is. He knows without glancing away what was. He gazes unaided at the brilliant light that is to come. He sees you fully, too. He knows intimately every atom of your being, the light, the dark.

Someday we will see like that.

Someday, we will see fully. Someday we will know fully even as we have been fully known.

Quality Seed

 I decided to play with simple poetry this week.

What is sown is perishable;
what is raised is imperishable.
It is sown in dishonor;
it is raised in glory.
It is sown in weakness;
it is raised a spiritual body. I Cor. 15:42

Soul winter.
seed laid to rest
below, alone
lifeless
cold, gritty dark
imprisoned? embraced.
promise
hope hidden
embryo sheltered
sun and rain
and resurrection
inevitable

unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone John 12:24

Overpowering Winds vs. Deep Roots

Trees at Timberline

 At timberline on the high mountain peaks near my home there are beautiful trees. These trees are survivors.  They grow high on rocky slopes where hurricane force winds, vicious cold, and ferocious blizzards threaten them routinely.  Their trunks are twisted and their growth stunted by the difficult growing conditions, but they survive because they have roots that are deep and strong, sheltered by rocks.  Many of these trees are hundreds or even thousands of years old.  They live longer than trees growing in much more hospitable conditions.  

From Henry Photos http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/view?q=Bristlecone%20Pine&psc=G&filter=1#5369309897803670802

Storms Near and Far
It has been a terribly stormy week for many of my dear friends and family.  Within the space of a couple of days I have been told about numerous overpowering sorrows.

There is a newborn baby who spent his first several days outside the womb fighting for his life.
There are teenagers scattered near and far, determined to be stupid.  They are climbing over and digging under all of the boundaries that were erected to keep them alive.
There are older people suffering from debilitating or life-threatening illnesses.
There are family relationships strained by selfishness and addiction.
Many of the people I love are dealing with more than one of these problems at the same time.  It seems too much to bear.  It is crushing.

More Than We Can Bear
I have heard well meaning Christians, trying to be helpful, say "God won't give us more than we can bear. So He must think you are pretty strong."  Actually, not to be dismal here, but God never promises that he won't give us bigger problems than we can bear.  He promises not to allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear, but that is not the same thing.

Judging by 2 Corinthians 1:3-10, people are often burdened with problems too big for them. If there has ever been a human who should have been able to handle all the problems that were thrown at him, you would think that the apostle Paul would be that man. But he said, "We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself..." Paul's problems were so terrible that even he "despaired of life".

Hope
Fortunately, for us, Paul did not stop there.  He contrasted his own despair with God's power over death and revealed one reason that God sometimes does allow us to suffer beyond what we are able to bear.
  

"...But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again." 

My Prayer
So, for every one of those I love, who are utterly burdened beyond their strength, here is the prayer I am praying for you.

My Father of Mercies, My God of all comfort,
These problems are too much for us, they are crushing us. We can't fix them, and we don't know how to escape from them.  But You are the God who raises the dead.  Even if our problems are so crushing that we despair of life itself, you are more than strong enough.  We choose to put our roots down deep into you. Thank you that you are near to us. These problems will cause us to rely on you and not on ourselves.  You have delivered us before.  Help us again.  Have mercy, Father of Mercies. Comfort us, God of all comfort.  Our roots are driving deeper into you.  Our hope is in you and only in you.
Amen

"The tree on the mountain takes whatever the weather brings.  If it has any choice at all it is in putting down roots as deeply as possible."  Corrie Ten Boom