Is Seeing Believing?

There's an old saying "seeing is believing". A saying, that will probably soon disappear because we live in a day an age when we cannot trust our faculties. The boundary lines of reality have been blurred by the film industry. "Reality tv", movies, and video games have disconnect us from our imaginations and have robbed us of our creativity. With smart phones, we can create videos that rival the special effects of Hollywood just a decade earlier. All that is needed to escape reality is an avitar or a x-box. If you don't have time for that, you can always tweet or post about how dreadfully wonderful your life is on Facebook. Perhaps, that's one reason God has reminded us that we should walk by faith, not by sight. He knew there would come a day when we could not trust our vision. But I say we never could.  

We don't see with our eyes, we see with our minds. Need proof? That last dream that you remember, you saw that in your head right? Was it real? Our eyes process light along the optic nerves into our brains but what we see is our own perception. No two perceptions are just alike. That's about 7 billion " how I see it is" or opinions on planet earth. Makes you long for some absolutes, doesn't it?

Thankfully, God hasn't left us to our own devices when it comes to understanding him. He has chosen to reveal key information about Himself to us in His word. Over and over, He tells us to give little attention to the things we can see. Jesus even told Thomas blessed are those who believe who have not seen. Paul had this to say in 2 Corinthians 4:18" So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Finding an invisible God isn't all that hard if you know where to look. The key is you have to be looking. The wonders of God may be hidden in creation but the God of wonders isn't exactly hiding. He tells us, if we seek him we will find him, if we seek with all our heart Jeremiah 29:13.  Seeing isn't believing because belief isn't a visual response. Belief is a response of the heart.

You might find Jesus anywhere. Well, almost. You can't find Him in a manger. That's been done. Incidentally, all those who found Him there were looking toward heaven. You won't find Him on the cross either. "It is finished". It couldn't hold Him. You won't find Him in a tomb. That rock rolled a long time ago.  The grave couldn't keep Him .Those places have two things in common. All were forever changed by a brief encounter with the savior and all are empty without Him .Whether you're looking through a telescope or walking through a valley, gazing at something fascinating or just having a busy night at the office tending your sheep, Jesus can be found. When you find Him, it will be your heart, not your eyes, that is mesmerized. Unlike the manger, the cross, and the tomb, Jesus doesn't make brief encounters with the heart. Only Christ can fill a heart. Your heart is uniquely designed to hold Jesus. A heart He encounters is never again, empty. However, it will be forever changed. There will be decorations. Merry Christmas.