Previous Reflections
REFLECTIONS
October 5, 2008
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
Colossians 1:16
More than Meets the Eye
Heads down, eyes glued to the sand, we walked the beach in search of a few of tiny treasures God placed on the earth. My eyes were focused solely on the ground until Janice said, “Look up.” I raised my head to discover several pelicans flying silently beneath a deep blue sky on their way to somewhere. Pelicans are not majestic in flight, but their silence was deafening. The scene reminded me of the words of Darrell Johnson, “Things are not as they seem. Better, things are more than they seem.”
Darrell Johnson is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His teachings include in-depth studies of The Revelation, and it is in those teachings that he concludes “Things are more than they seem.” The world is indeed a complex place I’m sure we all agree; but we each see it differently. We each see it from the perspective of our own lives. We see it from the places we live, from the influences of those around us, and from the experiences we have had. We cast our judgments and make our decisions on those perceptions. Yet we never have it completely right. Things are not as they seem. There is more than meets the eye.
A flock of birds flying unnoticed above my head is but one example. So much is going on simultaneously in the world and most of those things seemingly are not connected to each other. But I wonder.
I wonder if every single thing has a purpose. I wonder if all of those things are really connected in God’s plan—things are more than they seem. Even though their flight seemed insignificant, a few pelicans inspired these moments of reflection. Perhaps that was God’s purpose for them all along. But experience tells me that God had other things in mind as well. We can never see the whole picture. Things are more than they seem.
Even our own lives are more than they seem. Silent powers fly above our heads, unseen treasures lie beneath our feet, hidden thoughts live within our minds, unleashed power resides in our hands, and untapped love is buried in our hearts.
Things are more than they seem. And God designed it all.
“You are the light of the world,”
Richard Ì
Click here for Printer Friendly Version