Everywhere You Look, What Do You See?

Some people have the uncanny ability to see the worst in everything—it’s as if they have a radar for bad.

They see a devil lurking around every corner. They are fixated on what’s wrong and what’s broken.

Others see blessing, beauty, the best… God at work, everywhere and all the time.

They notice potential and possibility.

They believe everything belongs to God.

They notice God at work: repairing, restoring, rebuilding, reviving.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5.8 NIV)

My paraphrase: We’re happy and blessed when our inside world is full of Him, because we are able to see Him everywhere in the outside world too.

Many Christians compartmentalize the secular and the sacred.

They have neat, tidy boxes. Everything fits in its proper category.

They see God in the sacred box. Pop the lid—you’ll find church and anything that can be purchased at a Christian bookstore /anything that can be labeled “Christian”. These are generally happy boxes. The devils have been kicked out. It’s all good here.

They see the secular boxes as dark and devoid of God. Pop the lid—you’ll find “secular” art, entertainment, business, etc. These are scary boxes full of devils. If they ever have to get into one of these boxes, they hold their breath until the can jump back into a happy, safe, sacred box again.

Personally, I don’t think we should be experts at identifying and crediting the devil. I think we should be full of Jesus on the inside, and able to see Him at work everywhere on the outside too.

I believe the boxes don’t help.

In fact, I think they stink.

The boxes reveal just how big or how little we see our God.

Is God really confined to our sacred boxes? Is He not at work everywhere, all the time?

Are we not able to see God’s presence in the “secular”?

I love what Titus 1.15 says, “Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure”.

God’s presence, agenda, and work is bigger than our “sacred” boxes.

We’re happy and blessed when our inside world is full of Him, because we are able to see Him everywhere in the outside world too.

Flip that thought around—it might say something like, “We stink when we’ve confined Him to a few “sacred” boxes and we fail to see Him at work everywhere, all the time.”

I want to be so full of Him that I can see Him everywhere.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.