Sherlock Holmes and Vision

Famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, and his usual compatriot, Dr. Watson, were out camping on a hillside beneath one particularly moonlit-soaked evening.  Holmes wakes up, shakes his friend and yells, "Watson! Wake up, Watson!"  Watson stirs quickly and sits up in a frenzy.

"Holmes, what is it?" shouts Watson as he wipes the sleep from his eyes.  Holmes asks calmly: "Watson, look up at the stars and tell me what you see and what it all means."

Watson gazes up to the boundless sky and the countless number of stars.  He answers, "Well Holmes, I see a beautiful, starry sky."  Holmes is quick to reply, "And tell me Watson what you can deduce from that." Dr. Watson looks again with some intent at the sky before replying.

"Judging from the number and placement of the stars and the clarity of the sky, astrologically I can deduce that Ganemede is on the near side of Jupiter while the moon's size tells me that the tides are high in the northern hemisphere; meteorologically, I can deduce from the night's clarity that tomorrow should be another lovely, sunny day; and, theologically, I can see that we are two creatures among many in this vast universe.  Holmes, how did I do?"

Holmes snapped back, "Watson, you are an idiot.  It means that someone stole our tent."

The point is that someone, like Watson above, can get all of the answers correct and can articulate with  the finest words, but with all of this can still miss the point.  How often have we ourselves seen even mature Christians who can retort all of the vocabulary and can speak the theological lingo with ease, but in the end still miss the point.

For this very reason, it is necessary, like in the above story, to have people whom we trust around us who have the relational equity and authority to speak into our lives and tell us directly when we are simply missing the point.  We all have blind spots that no matter how self-aware we may be we will still be blind to.  This is what Christian fellowship that is humble and honest is all about.  Praise be to God that we could be made so humble and capable of accepting such discipline for growth.

Loving the Creation or the Creator

A lot can be discerned about the state of a person's heart by what they worship and what they put their energy in.  Scripture says that their are two possibilities for humans to worship.  Quite bluntly, we either worship creation or the Creator.  Needless to say, the latter is always to be preferred; however, overcoming the former is a difficult but necessary part of accomplishing in accomplishing the task of putting the Creator first.

Faith deals with jus this thing.  When we come to God in faith, we are consciously changing our focus of worship.  Our previous, fleshly focus is transformed and sanctified by the blood of Christ Jesus and transfixed on the Holy Lord Almighty.

For this reason, a great potentially convicting daily practice for us to engage in is a "worship check".  A simple moment of self-assessment and awareness is a great way for us to see where our hearts are at and in what way we may need to refocus.

Sin, in its most literal sense, is about missing the mark.  The etymology of sin comes from archery.  To sin is to aim and hit something other than what we should.  So, when we focus on that which is not God and less-than God, we are in fact sinning.  This is a harsh but true reality.  And the road of destruction is a moving sidewalk that leads us astray a single step at a time.  Let us then take care to keep ourselves worshiping God and not His creation!

Godly Dimples like Golf Balls

An aeronautical engineer once remarked that a perfectly smooth golf ball would not fly further than 130 or 150 yards.  Over a century ago, golf balls were made by stuffing a small leather sack with as many feathers as could fill a top hat.  The feathers were stuffed into the leather pouches boiling hot and as the feathers cooled they expanded while the leather tightened, created a hard, dense ball.  After some time, golfers began to notice that the balls were nearly useless at first, as they would fly erratically off the tee.  However, once the balls had become dented and imperfect, it was discovered that they flew more controllably and predictably.

The golfers got wise and begin to "age" their golf balls before use in order to make them fly better.  The trend continued and modern golf balls are manufactured with between 250-450 dimples.  The dimples drastically improve the aerodynamics of the balls and make their flight paths predictable and useful for the game of golf.  It seems odd to think that it is in fact the perceived "blemishes" and "distortions" on the balls that makes them purposeful at all.

Humans are like golf balls designed by the heavenly ball designer.  He has put certain dimples and, what we would call, imperfections into our design but only to increase our flight paths.  Each of these is for His purposes and, ultimately, our good.  If we could recognize that God desires to use us for a specific purpose and that He has designed us in such a way fitting that purpose, then we will take joy in who we are, knowing that God has made us a certain way for His reasons.

The psalmist writes in Psalm 139 that, "You (God) formed my inner parts, You knit me together in my mother's womb," and "I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are Your works and my soul knows them well."  If we remember this reality when scrutinizing ourselves or critiquing our exteriors, we will be able to breath and to thank God that He has created us in His perfect way.  Let us then cling to God, pressing into Him so as to receive His revelation as to what purpose He has created us for!

Powerful Purpose

God has created each of us individually with purpose.  Every person has been designed for intended reasons, purposed by the Lord.  The aims and intentions that individuals were created for are many but are not passively accomplished.  Because of the importance of this ideal, addressing purpose in accessible ways will be the goal of this conversation to shed light upon a significant issue.

At the onset, it must be stated that our individual purposes are always in-line with His will.  Because we are created beings, we cannot determine our purpose(s) apart from Him.  This reality is confirmed by logic and reason.  For instance, a clay pot does not plan its curves or determine its glaze; only the potter can mold the clay and create its intended purpose (Isa. 64:8; Rom. 9:20-21).

Because purpose is, by design, determined by Him and because purpose needs to be in-line with His will, this challenges many preconceptions about self-determination.  For starters, recognizing that we fulfill His purposes and not that He helps us to fulfill ours.  Scripture is unified in this regard, that His purposes are fulfilled in us (Psa 138:8; Rom. 8:28; 12:2; Eph. 2:10; Heb. 6:17-18).

Therefore, because purpose is determined by Him and for Him, the tactic for receiving purpose is intimately tied to our willingness to press into Him.  How are we to receive or achieve His intended purpose(s) for us if we are not in right relationship with Him?  If we are to fulfill His purposes in us, then we need to be diligent in pursuing Him.  This means Spirit-filled Bibly study, prayer, worship, fellowship.

This should prompt us to examine ourselves: are we living our His purposes?  if not, what is preventing us?  Because of the importance of this ideal, we need to take it seriously.  Additionally, appraising our circumstance in reference to purpose should be a practice that we do periodically throughout our lives, for God's purpose(s) for us can and do change dependent on life stage, etc.  Let us then press into Him to reach and fulfill His purposes in our lives!

Honest Humility

Humility, the state of being humble, is a necessary posture of living that Christians should continually realign themselves with throughout their lives.  Because humility chafes against the grain of our fleshly lives, we need to establish a practical methodology of humbling ourselves when the pull of pride rears its ugly head. For this, there are some keys to apply in the endeavor for humility.

One key to humility is Recognition.  We need to become so attuned and self-aware that we will be constantly on guard against the pride inside.  If we are to become humble we need to be ready and able to examine the depths of who we are with honesty.  The recognition of pride is one of the fundamental keys to maintaining humility.

Another key is Honesty.  This may seem rather obvious but honesty in this sense needs further definition.  It is not enough to be honest with our faults in the quest for humility, we must also be honest with our strengths.  More often than not it is our strengths, those traits or talents we posses and cherish, that cause pride and arrogance.  Ultimately, our strengths are given us by God and to be used for His glory and purposes.  Unfortunately, we can so overvalue our strengths that our attitude towards our strengths may become the stumbling block to true humility.

The final key to humility is Assessment.  Because humility is to be our ever-present attitude, we need to develop a sure and steady practice of self-assessment.  Employing the other keys of recognition and honesty, consistent assessment equips us to see areas in which we may be less than humble.  This valuable bit of information is necessary for us to meet pridefulness with correction and realign ourselves with humility.

Through recognition of pride, honesty with ourselves, and consistent assessment, we will form an attitude and posture of humility that should guide our lives.  The importance of humility cannot be overemphasized.  Scripture speaks often about the value and necessity of humility (for a start: Pro. 15:33; Rom. 12:3; Eph. 2:8-9; James 4:6).  However, Jesus' statement seems the most direct and applicable: "whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, whoever humbles himself shall be exalted (Matt.  23:12)."  Therefore, let us strive for humility in Him and for Him!