"I see," Oh, really?

Minkaye is a man who lived his entire life in the Amazonian jungle. Most of his life he lived just as his ancestors lived for a thousand years, with little awareness of the greater world. Then, the missionaries who lived with his people invited him to go with them to visit the United States. His attempts to tell his wife what he experienced are hilarious! He told her that the 'foreigners' are very fat because they don't hunt or plant gardens, they just sit around a lot. She scoffed, "how do they eat?" He told her that there are great food houses where people go and take piles of food in a wagon to a girl near the door who "pretends not to look at them for a while, then she looks up and smiles." "Then," Minkaye reported, "people give her a little card which she looks at and then she gives it right back and they take the food home." Interesting description of the supermarket and check out procedure, isn't it? He told her that he 'saw it very well,' meaning that he really took it in and enjoyed it. But Minkaye didn't really "see" it because he lacked the information required to interpret what he was seeing with his eyes. (from the DVD, Beyond the Gates of Splendor)

You and I can be like Minkaye when it comes to spiritual matters. As creatures of this earth, we are natural ignorant of the ways of the spiritual realm and yet we think that we understand what we see, but apart from the enlightenment that comes from the Spirit of God, we don't really 'get it!' It is possible to waste lots of resources and be frustrated in our attempts to correct problems that have deep spiritual causes with purely natural methods. Evil is active around us, trying to destroy lives! There is plenty of outward evidence of it. Hatred, racism, greed, and lust are just a few symptoms. How do we attempt to change those things in ourselves, in others? If we do not see the spiritual roots that lie beyond our ability to see with natural eyes we will surely think providing information or writing more stringent laws will be the remedies.

Then, too, a person who sees life only with his natural eyes will not grasp the joy of true worship of the living God, nor will he appreciate the richness that is found in knowing Jesus as Friend and Lord. He will believe that 'real life' can be discovered in wealth and/or pleasure. But, in truth, because we are spiritual beings, designed to know and love God, an inner emptiness will remain even when there is superficial success.

Here's the challenge for us, that we maintain 20/20 spiritual vision! It is possible to catch a glimpse of God's work and ways and then to slide back into seeing only with natural eyes. Many Christians and churches are ineffective and powerless as agents of transformation precisely for that reason. They are trying to spiritual work with natural methods and means.

Our prayer needs to be - "Lord, open our eyes! Let us see and understand." Here's a word from the Word. Before you read it, humbly ask the Holy Spirit to make the meaning plain.

"... the wisdom we speak of is the secret wisdom of God, which was hidden in former times, though he made it for our benefit before the world began....

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”

But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God’s deep secrets. No one can know what anyone else is really thinking except that person alone, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world’s spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:7-12, NLT)

Pray for insight! Let God reveal what cannot be grasped by natural means alone - both in terms of human needs and Divine solutions.
And then, as He enlightens you, you will live in true wisdom: a mature, spiritual person who really does "see it well."
_____________________

Open Our Eyes

Open our eyes, Lord,
We want to see Jesus,
To reach out and touch Him,
And say that we love Him.
Open our ears, Lord,
And help us to listen.
Open our eyes, Lord,
We want to see Jesus.

Author: Cull, Bob
Copyright: 1976 Maranatha! Music (Admin. by The Copyright Company)