How can we be FREE when we cannot SEE?

CONSTRUCTION projects will inevitably prove one thing: no matter how good the instructions are, there will always be re-work. This I found out afresh as I assembled a basketball goal set recently.

I quickly got to thinking there’s so much complexity in a set of technical plans, that even someone with a trade ticket like myself is bound to miss details. And several times I did — only to pull apart and fix what I’d put together.

This specific illustration is real to life.

Our minds and hearts and souls cannot absorb the wisdom that God has set into motion in our individual contexts. We don’t have a chance of absorbing all the truth before us, because we simply do not see.

We do not see why our dreams falter and why our losses are meant to define us. We can only see with our eyes, and we do not like discomfort of any kind — we cannot see its use unless we believe it’s beneficial, i.e. by faith.

We do not see the reasons why there are roadblocks ahead — whether literal or figurative. We yell at the drivers ahead of us (or if we’re more refined we fume) without having the foresight that there’s a delineable cause of the delay ahead. It’s not just their ‘poor’ driving!

We do not see the life experiences, the hurts, the reasons for others’ dysfunctions, and we’re so quick to judge and criticise. The dualistic (either/or, win/lose) mind is our perpetual nemesis. Because we do not see. We do not hold opposite tensions well. We don’t see how our influence impacts on others negatively, because we cannot see the effect it has on them.

We do not see the faults of those we favour, and we downplay our own faults, proving once again that we do not see. And yes, everyone plays favourites. Because we do not see.

We do not see how much we do not see in communication; we’re laden with assumptions. The outcome is conflict, and conflicts are more likely to confuse our relationships into irreconcilable differences because we just do not (or too rarely) see the purpose, process or goal of conciliation.

We do not see the problems of others we would otherwise envy. Everyone has problems no matter how much we deny them. Comparison and curation of image are two sides of an insidious cycle in our social-media-dominated world.

We do not see how important it is to invest in some lives and not in others or in activities that reap little reward whatsoever. Because we do not see we lean on our own understanding.

And we do not see how technical plans actually translate into a finished machine. We’re destined to ‘have a go’ only to find out we got it wrong… again!

We do not see God. We cannot see Him in His entirety in life. We try to see Him, but we do not see Him in life, or in our lives, anywhere nearly enough as He is there.

Because we do not see, we’re destined to need to learn. And that fact has its purpose. God has designed life full of learning opportunities — humility producing moments.

If we wish to be free
we need to first acknowledge we cannot see.
That compels us to trust God
for the insight and foresight we do not yet have.

Bible verse for reflection:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.”

— Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)