Dear All of Us,
When it comes to a vote,
"The ayes have it."
When it comes to
our spiritual living,
"THE EYES HAVE IT"
Truly
"It all depends on how
we see things."
Looking at things in
fear, anger, lust,
greed, arrogance,
dims to darkness
how we see and
what we see.
We stumble
in that darkness,
limited and limiting,
hurt and hurting,
lost and losing.
Seeing things as
God sees them,
or if you prefer,
seeing things
in the light of
Reality,
opens our eyes
to the brightness
and splendor of
ALL THAT IS
and our oneness
in that
ALL
So how do we
get our vision
adjusted and
corrected to
20/20
We go deep within.
We open the eyes
of our soul
of our inner awareness.
We see ourselves
centered in
Reality
centered in
Existence
centered in
Being
centered in
what makes us
and what
makes us go,
centered in
All That Is,
centered in
God
So centered
we see God
"..closer to us
than we are
to ourselves"
as Augustine reflects.
Meister Eckhard said that
between God and the soul
"...there is neither
strangeness nor distance."
This oneness with and in God
is affirmed and clarified
in scripture:
"For by these He has granted
to us His precious and
magnificent promises,
so that by them
you may become
partakers of the divine nature..."
2 Peter1:4
"...your life is hidden
with Christ in God."
Collassians 3:3
In this centered Oneness
we see God gazing at us
in delight.
We accept
that gaze,
that seeing.
We join it.
We see as
we are seen
in
The Love
Who Is God
This is so clear in
my little grandson.
His parents spend
lots of attention
gazing at him in love,
smiling in delight.
Little as he is,
he gets it - literally!
He gets their
delighted gaze
so really that he joins in,
and all smiles,
gazes back at them.
It's a mutuality,
a shared vision,
couple and child,
"a delight to see you"
times two unto
ONE
At the deepest level,
"THE EYES HAVE IT"
Through Paul we see how
our eyes open to God
and God's seeing:
"We don't yet see things clearly.
We're squinting in a fog,
peering through a mist.
But it won't be long before
the weather clears and
the sun shines bright!
We'll see it all then,
see it all as clearly
as God sees us,
knowing him directly
just as he knows us!
But for right now,
until that completeness,
we have three things to do
to lead us toward
that consummation:
Trust steadily in God,
hope unswervingly,
love extravagantly.
And the best
of the three is love."
1 Corinthians 13: 12-13
The Message
Living and looking
like that
we'll see things
so wonderfully
real and right.
We'll progressively
see as God sees,
sharing God's sight.
That will mean
we bask secure in
God's delighted gaze
at us.
God approved, we are
self-accepting, delighted.
No need "to act out"
or "act up" trying
to prove anything
or get approval.
Seeing as one with God
we see others, nature,
all creation, as they are
in God and in God's sight.
We see them in their
fundamental freshness,
purity and goodness.
We also see
evil and perversion
violating this beautiful creation.
We see people and nature
suffering that.
We see them and other people
working to right it.
We see them as agents of
God's redemption and salvation
- the work of loving recreation.
There's marvelously more to see.
Next week let's look closer
at seeing as we open wide
the aperture
of
NOTICE
Our spiritual life is
Seeing Eye To Eye,
Heart to Heart
God and us,
taking all in together
and seeing all as together.
Yes,
"THE EYES HAVE IT"
Thanks for the chance
to take this look together.
John Frank
******
Please do invite
family, friends,
and colleagues
to take a look at
"frankly speaking"
spirituality for the street
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
Thanks!
See you next week.
******
