Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2, HCSB)
I’m an amateur photographer, but recently I’ve moved from automatic cameras into the amazing world of manual cameras. In this new paradigm of taking pictures, I have a camera that allows me to switch lenses and change the settings on my device as I see fit.
I thought that changing lenses would be the coolest thing ever. But I discovered there are some fairly major drawbacks to it. For one thing, some images I wanted to take just wouldn’t come out right when I used the wrong lens. And I often missed shots by stopping to change lenses.
Also, when I would switch lenses, the optics of my camera sometimes got cloudy or dirty—especially when making the change outdoors. This led to images that had cloudy areas or dark spots on them that marred the finished result.
Recently though, I purchased a new lens. It’s professional grade and covers all the close-up and far-away settings that I used to have two lenses for.
When I was on a day hike recently, testing out this new lens, it hit me that we often have the same sort of lens issues in our spiritual lives. When I’m constantly bouncing back and forth between my way of viewing things and God’s way, I can miss some important insights.
When our son was in the military I really struggled with that. I tried to use God’s viewpoint to look at the circumstances we faced, but my fear and control issues had me changing lenses constantly. That’s when life got messiest. When I didn’t stick with God’s view, the issues I faced were clouded and obscured by anxiety.
But when I switched to seeing my problems through the lens of God, things came into sharp focus. I had the hope and the strength to see the path ahead. So when life troubles you, make sure you are looking at it through the right lens!
