When I was in middle school, my dad gave me one of the most special gifts I’ve ever received. Noticing my burgeoning interest in biology, with great thoughtfulness and sacrifice my dad gifted me his microscope from medical school. He set up a dark room where I spent hours examining the organisms I found in a nearby stream. Examining the water through the lens of my new microscope, the fluttering filaments of paramecium and squirming amoebas captivated me. I was filled with a sense of wonder.
The water I examined under that microscope was the same water I saw from the side of the stream. But no matter how long I would have stared at the water from above, I would never have experienced that sense of wonder. Only through a new lens could I get a glimpse into the hidden world of amoebas and paramecium. Little did my dad, or I, know that the gift of a new lens would be the first step on a journey to medical school and a career as a dermatologist.
Just a few years ago, I received a gift of another new lens. The lens of the gospel.
Rather than a reduced notion of faith that had guided my experience previously, the gift of a new lens enabled me to see God’s grand story. A story that unfolded not a path of religious performance for a remote God, but a four-chapter story of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
The same water of God’s truth that I had only experienced in a reduced way from the side of the stream was illuminated in a glorious new vision that drew me into something more amazing than I had ever seen before.
I yearn for others to see through a new lens into the grand story of life with God – to go beyond the dim view of the kingdom of God into a newly illuminated view of the rich ways that God is at work – ways that we’ve never even imagined.
Today, my role as a servant of Christ is to help give people an imagination of the possibilities of what they might see if they look through a new lens. I offer myself to others in that process, that they might be captured by a sense of wonder with the world waiting to be discovered beneath the surface of God’s living water.
How has a new lens helped you to see differently? I’d love to hear your answer in the comments below.
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I appreciate your New Lens outlook and I look forward to reading more from you. I have loved the Lord since I was a child, but can also gain from looking through a more powerful lens. I sometimes stop looking through the lens to search and discover more.
Thank you, Lynda. I am honored and excited for the opportunity to share here at our blog site. More to come! And, you might be interested in looking at “Made for More” by Hannah Anderson. This book offers a wonderful Kingdom lens, particularly for women.
Shauna, I appreciate your thoughts – and the genesis of that first look from your Dad; how special. I think he gave you more than a microscope – he gave you values that have been transformed and are now being utilized by your heavenly Father – in such unique ways. Who would have thought, as a Presbyterian that you could do the kinds of things you, working in Flourish, are doing. I think It’s a gift from the Holy Sprint that drives you today in such a special place. God’s always surprising.
Thank you, Paul. As I see more clearly, I begin to know that everything I have been given is a surprising and wonderful gift. The Gospel is truly amazing.
I love your analogy Shauna. It’s the perfect introduction into this new journey of yours.
For me the perfect way to focus better on God and learn His truths is the feelings and insight I receive through his Spirit. I believe the Holy Spirit testifies of Him and of truth in general, so that helps me to have a more clear (or focused) understanding of the Savior and what He would have me do. Through the Spirit I am able to see His miracles, both large and small, in my life. I’m so glad you took this next step (a blog). I look forward to reading more from you.
Thank you, Suzanne. More to come!
Beautifully written Shauna, so beautiful your growing love and devotion to to our Father . God’s love revealed, received, and believed is what gives life meaning. God made it clear for us our path to live in his kingdom.
Matt 7:7 “For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened”. He also warned us. Matt 7: 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. These sobering statement keeps me seeking- I pray not to be among those who professed, but did not really believe.