Through the Eyes of Faith

Moments like these are rare. It is not often that I find myself still enough to enjoy a quiet moment with the object of my attention in the same state of peace and quiet as I am. When these moments arrive and we look at the experience through our natural view, the tendency is to congratulate ourselves for the effort and hard work we have endured to arrive at these quiet moments. In this particular instance this picture was taken in another country and from a six-story high rise balcony. I know I had traveled some 2,600 miles and considerable expense to be there at that moment and can take some pride in that accomplishment. I do not know about the bird, but I expect it also traveled some distance to get there at its own personal expense and effort. We should pause and celebrate moments like this. I encourage each of us to do that to recharge ourselves to continue with whatever occupies our lives and with making a livelihood. But as I lingered in this moment this day, it occurred to me that neither the bird nor I was solely responsible for the setting and/or circumstances of this meeting. In fact, noticing the bird looking at me was a serendipity to a predawn moment of sitting waiting for the sun to rise. We both had intention in arriving at this particular location but had nothing to do with the intersection of our fates. As I reflected on this chance meeting my faith began to rise up in me. I find looking at moments like these through a lens of faith introduces a new perspective. I find my faith helps me realize that all we experience is not done in a vacuum, that is without a considerable investment of others besides ourselves. Even in this simple moment of sitting on a deck looking at a bird involved a huge investment of time, money, and labor by many people. The high rise building represented untold hours of design, construction and maintenance being invested by many before my arrival. The palm tree serving as the bird’s perch was by my estimate at least sixty feet tall and required planting, watering, and landscaping by countless others for it to mature to the point that it was this day. My faith tells me that in all our experiences of today, generations have gone before us preparing and contributing to our wellbeing. And all of it originates in the mind and heart of God according to His good purpose for us (Psalm 57:2). Taking on this view of faith as it applies to our daily life experiences I believe will compel us to walk with a little more humility, grace, and thankfulness. I would suggest that if each of us would try to walk in this life as if we were in the sight of God and in the shadow of His grace, we might be a little kinder to our fellow man. Perhaps we wouldn’t drive as aggressively on our nation’s highways, be so quick to judge or be so intolerant of each other’s views. Maybe we would rediscover that relationship with our fellow Americans is born and nurtured through patient discourse and not through shouting at each other. Maybe the desire and need to carry weapons on our streets would lessen. It seems to me a lot could change in our nation if we simply slow down a little and see the evidence of God and our faith that is right in front of us. It is not hidden at all. All we have to do is take the time to take a look through our eyes of faith. I believe this is desperately needed in our nation today. I believe this is the type of faith that is required for our times.