Right In Front of Us
By Evangeline Christian--
Ever notice how you can be staring something right in the face and still not see it? One of my most embarrassing examples is from adulthood.
I was looking for my eyeglasses. I couldn’t find them anywhere. You see, I normally wear contact lenses, but it’d been a long day and my eyes, like the rest of me, were tired. I finally asked my roommate if she’d seen my eyeglasses anywhere. One eyebrow quirked upward as her face broke out in a grin. “You’re wearing your glasses,” she observed.
Those supposedly missing-in-action eyeglasses weren’t just pushed up onto the top of my head like a hair accessory. Nope. I was looking right through them and didn’t realize they were there, perched on my own nose, providing the ability to see.
And yet, I still couldn’t see what was, literally, right in front of me.
What was getting in the way? Things that had nothing to do with physical vision. Things like, forgetting that I’d already taken out my contact lenses earlier that evening. Things like, being so preoccupied that I was oblivious to the fact that I already had what I was looking for.
This year of 2020 sure has thrown a lot of curve balls. I feel the temptation to slip into those same places of forgetfulness and preoccupation with all the stuff going on around us that screams for attention, demanding to fill my horizon. Can you relate?
That’s when it’s such a gift to have a loving reminder to help us see what’s real and what’s true. What a good Father we have, Who, like my roommate that night, helps us to see what’s right in front of us again!
Things like, as Jesus-followers, we’re already wearing our glasses that help us see as He does. “My Bride, look! The fields are ripe for harvest.” How ripe? More Muslims are coming to faith now than in any other period in history! Iran has the fastest growing church in the world!
Things like, we are privileged to join with Him in robbing hell and filling up heaven. We’re granted an open invitation to be where He is, working with Him, following in the steps of Jesus. Not just here close to home, but in places where there are no known Jesus-followers. And yes, those places still exist.
Things like, remembering our corporate testimony with the King, especially our co-laboring history with Him. GPBC has been a sending church since its birth, faithfully seeding the hope and truth of Jesus here and overseas, in years both lean and plenty. Whether you’ve been a part of GPBC for months or years, you’re part of this rich heritage of obeying His Great Commission.
Like so many other parts of our lives in 2020, this GP emphasis time looks a little different from past years. But let’s keep wearing our eyeglasses. We can still see as Jesus does. He’s still inviting us to partner with Him. And our corporate testimony with Him is still unfolding!