Be Careful Little Eyes What You See

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What we believe affects how we behave.  Now, more than ever, it's crucial for God's people to believe God's Word because the world around us is changing at lightning speed.  We have the opportunity to inject the world with Hope, Faith and Love. But it must start with ourselves.
There is a children's song that I taught my girls when they were little.  Be Careful Little Eyes What You See.  I'm sure I am not alone.  "Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See"  taught good theology: be careful what you see, hear, say, and do. Be careful where you go. Be careful who or in whom you trust. And, for Pete's sake, be careful what you think.

Can a children's song drive adults to their knees in times like this?  You bet! What we see on the news, what we hear others saying, what we say about our future, what we do when we go the grocery store, where we go when we are stressed, what we trust when we are scared, and especially what we think as we continue to ingest daily reports from the CDC matters.
In my city, things got real a week ago.  School shut down, restaurants closed, gatherings were restricted to 10 or under, church went online, grocery stores resembled war zones ... a week ago all this became reality.  Since then, let me tell you my honest reactions:
  • fear
  • despair about the future
  • sadness for those "losing" out on weddings that have to be cancelled
  • irritation about those not observing social distancing
  • joy over low gas prices ... then fear about what it will do to the economy
  • paranoia about my health 
  • sleeping - a lot
  • wanting to eat - a lot
  • waiting to binge watch Netflix - a lot
But at the same time, I've desired to find out what God is thinking and doing.  I have had the desire to really know where He is taking all of this, what He sees from His perspective, what He desires for this to do in the lives of the world population.  The gravity of this being not an Oklahoma thing, or an United States thing but rather a global thing hit me. In the words of Max Lucado, I wanted to know what God is saying.
As I've read my Bible this week, it seems words have louder voices than normal.  It seems that the black and white have taken up trumpets that resound deep in my Spirit - blasting truth that lodges into uncharted territory of my heart.  I read as if for the first time and see as if for the first time. Has it taken a global pandemic to get my heart to really seek the One I say I have put my trust in?
Out of His kindness, I've been able to put distance between the facts and what I know to be absolute truth - His truth.  I know I believe that my faith is not based on the stock market, gas prices, or amount of toilet paper on my grocery stores shelf.  I have not been given a spirit of fear by God who loves me. Fear is not my portion. Fear is not my friend. Fear is not even a response that is meant for me to hold on to long-term.  Fear is only a red flag that my Spirit needs some comfort and no amount of sleeping, hand washing, eating or binge watching is going to cure what ails me in the deep, deep places. God did not create me to have cheap, counterfeit experiences to sooth my soul.  He's not a discount master builder. He is a luxury Creator sparing no expense to the intricacies of His creation. I was made for real things from a real source to illicit real change.
Out of His great love for me, He is always the answer.  As a loving Father, protecting His child during a thunderstorm, He whispers His nearness while holding me in His arms.  I can know what He thinks during a pandemic. All I have to do is open His Word and receive the wisdom provided by His Spirit to see with a new perspective and live a life I was meant to live - living on every breath spoken by a loving Father.
I do suspect this is a time for realignment of priorities.  I do believe that God is showing us His love and desire for us to live above the world while also making a difference in the world.  I do believe that I can confess things that have taken my attention off the distraction keeping me from really knowing God. I do believe this is an opportunity to be honest about the role of the church and a time to repent from ineffective living.  Referring back to Max Lucado, God is speaking. Let's take the time to listen!
"Now, we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.  We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. But the unbeliever does not welcome what comes from God's Spirit because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.  For we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2: 12-15
Friends, we are made to be peculiar in times like these.  We are made to stand out in the way we respond in times like this.  We are made to not be shaken, not freak out, not hoard in times like these.  We have the mind of a loving Father who gives instruction and direction in times like these.  It should go against the world's way of handling crisis. We live by a different standard. We can activate faith and live according to promises we say we believe.  We can be generous, be loving, be serving in times like these.  
Friends, if I say I am a Baker, then I will bake.  Seems simple enough. When people come to my bakery, I will provide baked goods that reflect my profession.  Customers won't come to my bakery and expect soup or Barbecue or pottery. They will expect to find lovely baked goods.
Sweet ones, the world is in need of us, Christians, to live by the standards of Christ!  The world is looking for people who live life in the middle of a crisis with peace and hope and love.  Why, oh why, would we want to morph into the world's way of handling crisis when the benefit of others knowing Christ is so much greater!

 Be careful, little eyes what you see - because when we see from God's perspective - we can change the world!

 Christina

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