Praying for Double-Vision

This summer my church is devoting our sermons to digging deeply into the Gospel according to Luke. As we spend time focusing on Jesus’ interactions with all sorts of people, listening to his messages, considering his questions, and peeling back all the layers of his parables, our prayer is that two things are happening:

First, that we would see Jesus, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

Second, that we would see through Jesus, “for by him all things were created… and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 3:16, 17).

We all need this kind of spiritual double-vision. And that’s why we’re spending so much time in Luke this summer.

C.S. Lewis once wrote: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

The gospels help that to happen. They invite us not only to look upon Jesus, but also to look through him. In this way, he is our vision, and he is our wisdom. He is the focal point of our life, and he is the light that illuminates our life. He is the Son of God that has risen, and he invites us to see his radiant light, and to see everything else by his light.

May we be a people who never grow tired of digging deeply into the gospel, and looking intentionally at Jesus, praying that he would be the object of our worship and the lens through which we see the world.

We Weep

Sometimes all we can do is weep.

That’s certainly the case this week, as we grieve and lament the utter evil on display in Uvalde, Texas – in yet another mass shooting – this time at Robb Elementary School. We mourn the senseless murder of 19 children and 2 teachers, and we pray that “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3) will minister deeply to all those affected.

Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their loved ones. For the community that has been forever marked by this tragedy. For the darkness that can overcome a human soul and drive someone to such madness.

And so we weep. Yet as we do, we weep with faith.

That even though we’re halfway across the country from our brothers and sisters in Texas, “the Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in Spirit”. (Ps. 34:18)

That even though we don’t know how to pray, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words”. (Rom. 8:26)

That even though we see darkness all around us, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”. (John 1:5)

And that even though we can’t make sense of the evil on display in our world, a day is coming soon when God “will wipe away every tear from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore…” (Rev. 21:4)

But until then…

And for now, we weep.

“Yet saints their watch are keeping;
 their cry goes up, ‘How long?’
 And soon the night of weeping
 shall be the morn of song.”

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.