Seeing Things As They Are
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)
My husband and I recently returned from a vacation in the NC mountains. The time away was needed and refreshing. While we were there, I had an interesting experience that became a life lesson, which I’d like to share with you.
One of my favorite things to do, especially when I am in the mountains, is to go hiking and be in the woods. One day on vacation, we decided to drive to a place where we could hike to a waterfall. The road we traveled to get to our destination had many switchbacks, blind corners, and narrow shoulders. I would not want to travel that road in the winter, and honestly, I was so glad my husband was driving.
While on this winding road, we went around a particular corner where the view opened up to a majestic mountain ravine with a significant drop-off. Immediately, my heart jumped in my chest, and I feared we would fall off the narrow road and into the ravine.
That was a new experience for me because I am not afraid of heights and usually enjoy looking at the glorious mountain views. I paused and became curious about why I suddenly experienced that reaction.
As I looked out the passenger-side window, I saw the writing on the mirror that said, “Caution: Things may appear closer than they are!” At that moment, I realized that the mountains appeared threatening to me because I had my glasses on while we were driving, which I don’t usually do, and everything appeared closer than it actually was. As soon as I took my glasses off, the fear subsided, and I could again enjoy the natural beauty around me.
I continued to meditate on that experience as we hiked to the falls and back. During these quiet times of meditation, I am the most receptive to hearing what the Lord has to teach me. The thought that immediately popped into my mind was, “Isn’t that interesting? Trauma is like that, too.”
When we’ve experienced significant trauma, especially during our childhoods, we see life through trauma lenses, and everything in our external environment looks more threatening than it is. When we remove those trauma glasses, we can more clearly see the beauty of the world around us and not feel threatened by it.
I want to dive a little deeper into the spiritual realm for a few moments. Today’s verse is particularly applicable for this spiritual deep-dive.
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)
This verse tells us that we are the children of God but that we don’t know what or who we will become. It also says that when Jesus is fully revealed to us, we will be like Him because we shall see Him as He is.
As God’s children, we are all in the process of “becoming more like Christ.” We don’t really know what that looks like or what to expect because we can only see Him through our worldly glasses, and our view of Him is distorted. But God knows, and He is doing the work in our lives to refine and shape us into the image of Christ as He sees Him.
The Bible says, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12). I don’t know about you, but I deeply long to see Jesus face to face, just as He is, without the distortion of the world marring my view.
When we can view the environment surrounding us through the lenses of a Biblical worldview, we can start to see what God sees…things as they really are…and who we are becoming. Will you come along on that journey with me?
