I am in a pattern where I look at life through tinted glasses. When I look away from myself, I believe I have 20/20 sight with no haze or filter. When I look at myself, I assume my sight does not change. When the filters fall away, I discover that my insight is, in truth, blind sight. I look with bias and ego, analyze from the perspective of god within, and judge and conclude. I am usually blind.
During the past few months, my sight has been much closer to that of God. I say this with much fear, concerned about how I might feel about myself, but let me explain. When I look at great moments of insight and reflection there is a common theme. The insights are not the result of careful analysis and giant intellect; rather they are small gifts from God often through children, events in life, and those struggling to live. When I examine this fact and acknowledge that God gift of grace applies to everyone in equal measure, my inflated sense of superiority and confidence is accurately measured.
God loves each of us intensely and without reservation. God knows, even better than we, how far we have moved away from Him. We pursue the god of self and we away from God at every opportunity. Even when we resolve to build the relationship we quickly change course. We are unfaithful liars who cannot be trusted no matter how well intentioned our motives might be. The mystery comes from the power that perfect Love knows all this and yet, almost by definition, explicitly and completely says I unconditionally accept you and offer you a gift of grace and mercy.
Paul offers you and I some advice.
“Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.” (Romans 12.16)
The advice on how to get along helps, but it is far more than that. Paul’s words provide us an experiential guide into understanding God’s view. Practice this and understanding how God looks at us begins.
