our blog
Apr
Ear of an Angel
Perspective: the appearance to the eye of objects in respect to their relative distances and positions
A few weeks ago I was blessed with the opportunity to spend an entire afternoon alone in New York City. I decided to take a walk through Central Park and spend my time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The prospect of this perfect afternoon eased my nerves and excited my intellect. I was in for a greater experience than expected.
As I meandered through the Met I relished the Roman antiquities: sculptures, bronzes, adornments. I recognized pieces featured in various books and magazines I have read in my lifetime. They were not all new to me. I know what to appreciate about them. The cut of the marble, the craftsman ship, the brilliance of the jewels, all were somewhat familiar. It was exactly what I wanted and expected to see.
I moved on from the Greek and Roman art exhibit with no real sense of where to go next. I walked around a corner and was instantly challenged. There I was in Modern and Contemporary Art facing several paintings I knew that I could have painted myself, had I sat down to do it. Yet, I was challenged. Why this color here? Why so basic here, but intricate there? He used ovals everywhere, why ovals? The title of this piece does not correspond with what I see, so what am I missing? This collection was thought provoking. As I worked through piece after piece I happened to look directly ahead and saw a mass of oil on paper in a renaissance-like frame about fifty feet away.
From where I was standing, I saw an ear. An enormous ear painted in what seemed to be black and white with hints of peach and bluish-grey. I did not know what to think other than how peculiar. (I later learned the artist called this the “ear of an angel.”) I moved in for a closer look and with each step, the picture began to change. From about six feet away I clearly saw a Madonna with child inside the ear. Of course I paused. “Whaaat?” I thought, equally amused and curious. At this point one could also discern a “profusion of pink and grey dots,” as the description card explained it, covering the entire image. “Why?” I thought aloud. I didn’t get it. I proceeded, only to realize at close range the painting seemed abstract except for a surreal creased piece of paper with a red ball hanging from it casting a shadow. The crispness of this part of the image suggested to me that my attention to it was required. I scooted over to get a closer look at the trompe l’oeil and sure enough discovered the signature of the artist. I had just witnessed Salvador Dali’s Madonna (1958).
I walked back and forth experiencing this masterpiece over and over again. At one point as I was stepping back to see the big picture once again, a man came up to the painting at close range. A little distracted by his form obscuring what I wanted to appreciate, I waited for him to move. But almost instantly I acknowledged that he was experiencing this too. He slowly moved backwards and I, forwards. After resuming a close range position, I turned to look back at the man. He looked at me and we both nodded knowingly. We had just seen four separate elements of one painting. We received what the artist had to show us based on how we worked through the experience and where we had positioned ourselves.
Is it not so with our relationship with God? Is it not so with our one word? We seek what we can readily recognize and understand in our walk with God and we are satisfied with staying there. It kind of massages our spiritual ego. But when it is time to get to work, when its time for us to take our word and find new and challenging places to apply it, will we? I pray for you and for me that the answer is a bold and adamant yes! It is thrilling to see God work in the unknown areas of our souls. To observe and ask, “Why here, Lord?”, “What purpose will this serve?”, “You can actually use this, Lord?” “How can I move forth with this person in my path?” It is thrilling to continue in obedience learning and growing. It is all about your perspective of your one word. Will you witness the masterpiece as it changes and becomes richer before your eyes? Will you let the Master show you His work in you at each step?
Perspective: a mental view or prospect.
J. Becton Skiba
Apr
Vantage Point
Your Word is not just a promise that you must keep or else you will fail. It is more about the process of formation than a destination in which you will be “holy.”
This is an interesting word. “Holy.” It sounds like some kind of super-spiritual behavior – it sounds like finally arriving at some great spiritual finish line: “I am finally holy! My life is all perfectly arranged! I’ve made it!”
Perhaps of all the religious and spiritual things we Christians throw around, holiness has the biggest image problem. Think of a holy person and chances are the first thing that comes to mind is someone who is stiff and never has a moment of fun.
In truth, all that is meant by holiness is that someone or something was set apart for God’s use. The Bible is filled with stories that take place on holy ground. The only reason those plots of land are special is because something special happened on them. Their holiness depends on how God used them.
So how is He going to use you?
The goal of this year is to put yourself in a position where God will use you. So your word must become a vantage point – otherwise, opportunities will be lost. We want your One Word to become the lens through which you not only see your life and what God wants to do through you, but also how you view each passing moment.
Every day you will have an opportunity to “see” your life and your world though the lens of your One Word. If your word is compassion, it changes the way you see. You can’t simply measure your growth by whether or not you have been compassionate – you must begin to monitor how you see what is happening around you. You walk into a situation and begin to see through the lens of compassion and become available to bring God’s compassion where it might be needed. This is to be holy – you are set apart for his purposes.
If your word is love or faith, it changes the way you see your world. You are looking for opportunities. You are looking for ways for God to use what he is doing in you. You are set apart for his work – your One Word becomes a way to see things and not just a thing to do!
The first step to discovering what He has in store for you is by developing the vision of seeing what you can do for Him. As you are thinking about your word, ask yourself what your perspective would be like through the lens of your One Word. Then, surrender your normal, natural pace to be set apart for him – you are holy (1 Peter 1:16).
Apr
Looking Through a Compass . . .
Thermostats are pretty important but easy to ignore. If you’re reasonably comfortable you don’t even think about it. Thermostats are pretty simple: they have a sensor, a comparator and a responder. A good word for MOW is a word that can be used as a lens and while doing that I was reminded of how a thermostat works in the way I need my word to work in my life.
The “sensor” makes the thermostat AWARE of the current temperature–or how things are right now. A good word can do that too. When my word was relational I was made much more aware of how interconnected I am with others. With compass I’m far more aware of my “position” as it relates to God, to others, to requirements, to aspirations. It is easier to see when you’re “lost” when your word is compass.
The “comparator” measures the difference between how things are now and how things should be. What is the distance between the real and the ideal? What is the difference between my recent response to a “honey do” request and how Christ calls me to respond? What is the distance between the way I recently disciplined my daughter and the way Proverbs and other scriptures call me to parent?
The “responder” guides the reaction or behavior undertaken to minimize the distance between the ideal and the real. With a thermostat it is pretty simple: turn on the unit that cools or heats. Our repertoire of responses has to be much much greater. I can’t even discipline my two kids the same way. For my daughter being grounded is agony. My son wouldn’t even notice he was being punished . . . . until he ran out of drawing paper. The WWJD bracelet serves as a reminder to try to respond like Jesus.
So when I have remembered to use my word as a lens it has taken me through this process of sensitivity to the things that matter most, comparing where I am at with where I should be and then identifying responses that would please Christ.
For example, the other day I could feel myself just wanting to vent at my family about the messy house after stepping over her stuff, around his stuff and on still more stuff. The words were ready for launch . . . . But then I used my word “compass” to ask “where should I really be on this issue?” What matters most? What is the ideal of a godly home? The needle pointed to “peace.” Within that climate of peace we can deal with other issues. That was about 20 seconds of internal dialogue that change a rant about “What the heck is going on here!!!!” Into calm, “OK, let’s have a 3 minute speed clean before I make some lunch. I’ll get the trash, each of you get your stuff. Somebody set the timer on the stove. GO!”
The potential of a word to act as a lens is not simply to put myself under a microscope and find every flaw. Instead I have found it works best to help me become more aware of myself AND my situations and then use my word as a catalyst for both personal growth and expressions of that growth in the real situations of my life.
Reflect on how your word can help you in each of the components above:
• What does it make you more sensitive to that you might otherwise overlook or take for granted?
• How does it help you see the distance between the real and ideal set forth in God’s truth about the issue or situation?
• How can it inform your responses to bring the real in alignment with the ideal?