I spent last week with the youth group in New Orleans doing mission work. As with most mission trips it was great and terrible; enjoyable and disheartening. I will detail more of the trip in subsequent posts, but for now be assured that there is much to celebrate and much to be sad about as we approach the 2nd anniversary of this horrific event.
The theme of the week was “Be Thou My Vision.” The first stanza reads:
Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart.
Naught be all else to me save that thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night.
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
The goal was to invite us to see the world as God sees the world. To see the possibilities and potential. To be filled with the life and the light in the world. It was a great challenge for me as I typically see faults and mistakes first before seeing any sort of promise that others might have.
But as the week unfolded, I couldn’t help but be reminded of what it means to be a child to enter into the kingdom. Elijah is at the age where he is beginning to imagine one thing to be another. About a year ago, everything was a “tent.” Whether covers, blankets, a coat, or even a hat, if it was over his head it was a tent. Now he is stuck on the movie “Cars.” He “drives” a lot of places by running and making car noises. Every vehicle he sees can be related to a vehicle in the movie. He just sees the world differently than I do. Elijah seems to fulfill Colossians 3:1-2:
“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth.” (NLT)
In that truth lies what it means to make God our Vision. That we see things and people for what they could be not what they actually are. Oh how I wish I could see life like Elijah does.
Instead of seeing a sinful city now destroyed, I see the lives that were destroyed and are in need of restoration.
Instead of seeing people based on their race, I see them as another part of God’s diverse creation.
Instead of seeing people’s flaws, I see them as having so much to contribute to the body of Christ.
Instead of seeing my own selfishness, I see the cross and the self-sacrifice it entails.
May God be my Vision and yours.
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1 comment:
I like this post very much. It has my imagination whirring.
"In that truth lies what it means to make God our Vision. That we see things and people for what they could be not what they actually are."
Might I suggest replacing the word "Actually" with "currently" or something else. We need to get past the idea that what we see is more real and actual than what God sees.
And there is some HTML script that is not working above the line "May God be my Vision and yours."
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