Thursday, November 1, 2012

“Below the Surface”

  “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John7:24).

     Because our vision and understanding extend only to the surface of things, God calls us to the “righteous judgment” that recognizes both our limitation, and His infinite understanding.

     “Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

      Certainly, we use our understanding with great determination and application.  We do not, however, lean upon it as if our grasp of facts provides the be all and end all of truth and reality.   Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ possess the gracious advantage of another and greater Mind that sees above, on, and below the surface of everything in our lives.  “His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5).  Through prayer, the Scriptures, our fellow believers, and trusting in the Lord with “all thy heart,” we avail ourselves of the only One who possesses truly righteous judgment. 

     The crystal surface of a still pond might cause us to think we have encountered merely a mirror that beautifully reflects the light of sun, moon, and stars.  In truth, however, a teeming world of life exists under the mirror’s surface.   The pond speaks to everything in our lives, as we actually see very little of things as they truly and completely are.  Let us be thankful that we know the One to whose eyes all things are “naked and opened” (Hebrews 4:13).  He will gladly direct our paths as we affirm His perfect vision and admit our limited perspective.  Or, as the Psalmist exulted of a life lived in the light of God…

“The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

(Proverbs 4:18)

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