Focusing in

Can you do those stereograph things?

I can't. Stereographs are those images that you look like nothing but static. You look at them casually and nothing is there. Supposedly, though, if you cross your eyes and look a certain way and focus in the right direction, they will reveal some sort of hidden image. I've never been successful at finding the image.

I remember, when I still lived with my parents, that my brother was really into them one year. He got a calendar that had a new stereograph image every month. I looked at the same image for a month and I still couldn't make the image materialize. Not if I crossed my eyes or looked over my nose or turned around three times and stood on my head.

I just can't seem to see them. They just don't work for me.

I've been told, though, that it is a matter or perspective. Just like 3D glasses in a movie, the idea is to change your perception. In the case of stereographs, you are changing the way your eyes look at the image. With the 3D classes, you're forcing both of your eyes to see the image 3-dimensionally through a set of different colored lenses.

It's all about focus. If you don't have the right focus, you won't see the image the way it was intended to be seen. It will be blurry or out of focus if you don't see it right.

That's what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 6:22-24. He says that we have to focus on Jesus or we won't see what God wants us to see. He is particularly referencing money. If we view everything with a focus on money, we will never to be to fully do what God intends for us to do. We will always do what's best for our wallet or pocketbook.

In a sense, we will become a slave to our desires for more money. We will do what we have to keep it, save it and protect it. And that may include not tithing or giving or helping others. That is counter to what Jesus teaches.

Instead, he tells us that Jesus needs to be our primary focus. We need to see everything through the lens of Christ. Only then can we see clearly. Only then can we truly follow him.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Devotion to a false god

Image
Last week, at Disney World, I went to retrieve our stroller from the stroller parking section.  As I searched among the hundred or so strollers, I finally found mine and started to move it.  As I pulled, it snagged on a woman's garment.  Panicked, I looked up and saw it was a Muslim women in full Muslin dress.  Her body was completely covered.  Only a slit for her eyes was visible.  I was careful not to yank, and I tried to apologize as the hook of the handle caught part of her garment.  She didn't say a word and we both quietly went on our ways. As I walked away, I felt pity on her.  For one, it's Disney World in June in Florida.  I strode along in shorts and a very thin T-shirt.  Both were soaked in sweat.  I had already consumed two bottles of water and still felt weary.  She was dressed head to toe in heavy garments.  I can't imagine how hot she was pushing a stroller with two kids through a mass of people in hum...
Read more

Bearing Responsbility

Image
I remember when my daughter was first born. Amid the excitement and joy came an overwhelming feeling.  This baby, which I held in my hands, was now my responsibility.  When she got sick, needed feeding, required a diaper change, or had to be corrected and taught, those responsibilities fell to me as her father.  In a matter of a few minutes, I had been entrusted with a new life on planet earth. Looking back on that day six years ago, I was excited but scared.  Yet, that is nothing compared to the responsibility Joesph must have felt.  Joseph was a righteous man, according to scripture, and he knew one thing for certain - Jesus was not his biological son.  Thus, he planned to divorce Mary quietly and be rid of the whole matter. And before we vilify Joseph, know that he could have done much worse.  By law, Mary could have been stoned to death.  His divorce was a form of mercy.  She would live and he would be rid of the stigma of an unfait...
Read more

Following Jesus' Example

Jesus was not a convential man. Often, when Jesus taught, he challenged the status quo.  He also liked to use object lessons and parables to illustrate his points about faith and a relationship with God. One night after dinner, during the last week of his life before the resurrection, he finished eating, took off his outer garment, grabbed a towel and started to wash the disciples' feet. Stunned, Peter protested, but Jesus said it had to be done.  He had to allow Jesus, his rabbi, his teacher, his Lord, to become a servant and wash Peter's dirty, worn feet.  So he did.  Jesus washed all their feet that night.  Then he said:  You need to do this too. Too often in Christianity today, there is an attitude of moral superiority.  We love to build beautiful church buildings, boast of our attendance, brag about our programs and talk about the money we give.  At the same time, we turn our nose up to the alcoholics and drug addicts and homeless and...
Read more