I remember getting my first camera and the anticipation of getting back the little square prints with rounded corners. My camera did not have a zoom lens so all of the people in my photos were pretty small. I upgraded to a 35mm camera and to 3 x 5 prints and finally started splurging on 4 x 6 prints.
It was so exciting to pick up the developed pictures. You never knew if eyes would be closed or if your tooth would be sporting a poppy seed. (Yes, that happened to me once and my husband told me, “It didn’t look that big at the time.” Well, it sure looked big and bold in the picture, especially since a flash had been used!)
In our digital photo culture, we get to portray just the look we want, especially on social media. Just ask a middle school or high school girl. Nobody posts or prints the bloopers but there is a back story to every picture.
When I look through old photos, a flood of memories arise and I’m back in that moment. The effort it took to get that perfect Christmas card picture. The summer vacation photos that do not include the play by play of the fighting in the backseat. The beautifully set table for the Thanksgiving meal that took a week to plan, a few days of baking and cooking, 30 minutes to eat but hours to clean up. You get the picture!
A picture is worth a thousand words.
The same could be said of words. We picture things in our mind’s eye while reading. Sometimes, we get disappointed when we see something in person because we’ve imagined it much grander than it turns out to be. But the opposite is true as well. Neither pictures nor words compare with actually experiencing something firsthand.
Won’t it be incredible someday to see Jesus face to face? To meet our heroes of the Bible in person?
Trust me on this one. We will NOT be disappointed when the final veil is torn. The physical veil will be removed in an instant, revealing the spiritual realm we have tried to envision in our mind’s eye. I repeat we will NOT be disappointed.
Let’s keep seeking The Lord. Let’s keep reading and studying. Let’s keep envisioning in technicolor. Let’s keep asking for glimpses of heaven on earth. But, let’s never forget that NOTHING on this earth can compare with what we will experience when the sky is rolled away to reveal His presence. (Revelation 20:11)
If it were possible to take a picture of the heavenly realm, there would not be enough words in all the languages on earth to describe it.
We all have thousands of photos and hundreds of books in our homes with access to thousands more at any given moment on the internet.
Yet this was said of Jesus:
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25
And this is what is said about those who love Jesus:
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” I Corinthians 2:10
I remember learning in childbirth class how to focus on a picture in my mind’s eye to divert my attention from the pain to a peaceful, happy place. I’m done with the childbirth years but there are still things I face that are difficult and painful. In the midst of those times, it is so easy to zoom in only on the negative.
How refreshing would it be if you and I began to focus on the things the Lord has done – thankfulness – and imagine the amazing things He will do – hope – rather than dwell on our limitations, fears, and disappointments?
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” Hebrews 11:1-2
I don’t know about you but I want to be commended for my faith. I want to be known as a woman who exhibits faith, hope, and love. Will you join me in a shift of focus? May we be people who bravely ask the Lord to open our eyes to the things unseen.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
The New Testament Lexical Aides defines “to lose heart” as to give in to trouble, become exasperated by difficulty, be defeated in spirit, discouraged, faint-hearted or to despair. It defines “fix our eyes on” as to look towards an object, contemplate, give attention to, focus upon.
Have you become exasperated by difficulty lately? Are your eyes fixed only on what is seen? Take a step of faith with me and shift your focus to the unseen realm. Ask the Lord to open the eyes of your heart so that you can know the hope to which He has called you!
