GLASSES.
GLASSES.
I presume that you might have some questions about the title. You know that I am not an eye-doctor nor an optician. Jesus used many parables when He was teaching and I also like to talk about spiritual things, using practical examples. This time I use glasses. That might not be so strange since I recently had an operation on both my eyes. I had used very strong glasses and had developed a cartridge the last years. I can now be without glasses and I see better than ever. This is no less than a miracle for me. I have never been cleaning so much as now and I see wrinkles and spots. I have to be careful unless I exaggerate. We are in the middle of spring and the sun gives a much stronger light. I again use that to think in spiritual terms. The closer we get to the Lord, the easier we see sin and any other things that are not pleasing to the Lord. When we live in a grey zone, everything looks grey and in the dark, we see nothing. People with very bad sight, might need a magnifying glass.
What kind of glasses do you use daily or when you meet a problem? What kind of glasses do you use when you read the Bible or when you meet people? Some are very good in using their “critical glasses”. They are constantly looking for some mistakes. These glasses only see negative things. When they read the Bible, they do not eat it as good and needy food, but they are looking for something they do not understand, something minimizing their faith or giving them a wrong picture of God. When they go to church, they do not understand what the pastor is saying or they might misinterpret his message. Maybe the pastor has a wrong intonation or the wrong clothes for a Sunday service. They might think that there are too many songs or not enough and maybe the chairs are no good for sitting. The music might be too loud or too soft and I could go on. There are times when we should give our opinion without being accused of having a critical spirit, but that should not be a pattern. It is not difficult to find mistakes since none of us is perfect. We might find some mistakes in looks, clothes, talks or doings. When one is using the critical eye-glasses, one cannot see the positive things that also are there. People with a low self-esteem are often using critical eye-glasses. The devil is making effective advertisement for these glasses. Some people think they have a special calling to correct everything and everybody and they might need several pairs of these glasses. If we see obvious sin, the Bible is giving us instructions of how to deal with that. The Lord is full of grace and I believe that we should look for Christ in our spiritual sisters and brothers and look for possibilities and the positive. If one is constantly looking for the negative, one is increasing the low self-esteem and one is constantly afraid of making mistakes.
Others are using glasses of anxiety. If you keep them on all the time, you might get afraid to go out and you may isolate yourself. It might be dangerous to go out. One might be hit by a car, be raped or in the worst case shot. It is dangerous to be on a bus or to drive a car. A train might crash and a plane might fall down and the boat sink. “Anxiety-glasses” might see people as a treat. They could hurt them. Some people take off these glasses when they are alone, but others have extra strong glasses on when they are alone. To be alone can be very scary. Some “anxiety-glasses” give a blurry sight. They are afraid, but do not know why. Others magnify every possible fearful thing. The Bible says that we haven’t gotten a spirit of fear. It is this spirit that makes you use these kind of glasses. When we use the glasses of anxiety, we allow the spirit of fear to dominate us.
The spirit or spirits have to be driven out and the glasses must be destroyed.
We have “religious” glasses and “humanistic” glasses. The religious glasses are colored by laws and regulations and the glass is very hard and those using them are often judgmental and self-righteous. These glasses might look similar to the critical ones, but these see oneself and others through the Law as a filter. Do my friends and family follow the Bible as I interpret it? The users of these glasses make their own religious system and everybody is judged according to their own system. They forget that where the Holy Spirit is, there is freedom. I am not talking about sin and chaos.
Today we have a variety of glasses of humanism. Humanism focus on the human worth and the individual is in focus. The word humanism is sometimes mixed into other religions. To focus on the worth of people is important, but the Humane Ethics in Norway is called to be an alternative to Christianity. They do not believe in God. When you use the humane ethical glasses, you must be respected for who you are and what you do as long as you do not go against the laws of your country. What feels right for you, must be right. They do not ask so much about what is right or wrong. Those using these glasses see very black spots when they meet Christians. They see black men and women believing in something that doesn’t exist. The glasses become so black that they do not see the word they otherwise love, the word tolerance. No one has valued a person so highly as God. He created us in His image. When He understood that we got lost, He sent His only begotten Son in order for us to get eternal life. He sent us the Holy Spirit to help us. God loves us and the faith in people do not come from humanism, but from God.
We find all kind of glasses, in all shapes and colors. Sun-glasses are supposed to protect us from the sun. Many are using sunglasses all day, spiritually speaking. They are so afraid of the light from Heaven. They need to protect themselves. They do not want to be exposed or stop doing what they do. They definitely do not want to hear about the God who has created them and is loving them. The spiritual sun-glasses help them to live in a grey zone or in total darkness.
Some glasses are made to only focus on certain things. Some are seeing sex in everything or whatever they desire and lust.
My eyes are now in balance. God wants to give us well adjusted glasses. The Holy Spirit has come in order to convince us of sin and of God’s grace. If we only see sins in ourselves and in others, we can easily become depressed. We must also see His grace. We need glasses, seeing ourselves and others through the eyes of God. He has a filter, seeing His children sinless because of the blood of Jesus. We need glasses highlighting Jesus and the Cross. We need glasses that can see the devil when he comes with temptations and his schemes. We need “love-glasses”. When we use those, we see others with grace and love. These glasses do see the sin, but also the blood washing it away when we repent. “Love-glasses” see the possibilities in your neighbor. These glasses do not keep the sun away. On the contrary, they magnify the light in order for us to walk in it.
CHANGE GLASSES IF NECESSARY.
Mother Else