New Glasses

"All I know is, I was blind, but now I see." ~ The blind man Jesus healed in John 9:25

"I once was lost but now am found; was blind, but now I see." ~ John Newton, from the hymn Amazing Grace

Recently, I had a conversation with some students about being “Christocentric.”  This term is about Jesus Christ being the “center” or focus of who we are and what we do.  

When asked about this term, I said something like this: It basically means that we cannot just pick and choose any Scripture we want and then interpret in any way we want without first looking through the lens of the character, actions, and love of Jesus. 

That seemed like a pretty basic definition to me, but apparently it caused quite a long string of discussions.  Part of me was glad that it was almost shocking for these students to hear!  However, I was a bit disappointed, too, since after all, we are Christians.  We are Christ-followers: those who put Jesus Christ as the center of what we are about.  That means – or should mean – that we cannot help but read or see or do anything without first comparing and contrasting how and what we are seeing and doing with the person and work of Jesus.  

Until we do that, then no matter how many Scriptures we know or how much good we try to do, we are not living the Christian life: the life of one who sees things through the lens of Jesus Christ.

There are many other glasses that I can look through.  There are many lenses competing for my attention: political lenses, entertainment lenses, media-drive lenses, and even religious lenses.  All of these are very real and can shape what we say and do.  However, until these lenses become secondary to the lens of Jesus Christ, then we will never quite see things in a “Christian” way.  That means we risk blurring what real Christianity is all about!

And we all know that there are – and have always been (see John 6, for instance) – too many blurry images of what Jesus and Christianity are all about.  These blurry images are, at best, misleading to those who are truly seeking the peace and love of God.  At worst, these blurs fall into the category that God seems to have the most negative view of: idolatry!  We make idols by presenting our blurred image of Jesus – these images that we come up with by looking at things through lenses other than the person and work of Jesus – to the world as the real thing. 

How do we get past this blurred vision and learn to see the real Jesus?

First, we should close re-examine what we know (or think we know) about Jesus by going to the source of Jesus’s life and work: the Gospels, the New Testament, and even the stories of God’s work in the Old Testament.  In addition, it would help for us to look closely at the words and actions of the Early Church – which includes the first few centuries of the Church – in regard to the person and work of Jesus Christ. 

Secondly, this close re-examination will lead to an “eye exam.”  In other words, it will cause us to ask serious questions about the lenses we are currently using.  Are we simply looking from the perspective of our own control?  Are we allowing sources other than the person and work of Jesus to determine how we interpret Scripture or respond to the issues of our day?  Are we substituting what we know of Jesus and His love with whatever our favorite politician, media outlet, or even religious leader has declared without first putting on the lenses of Jesus and His character? 

It is time for the Church, its participants, and leaders to have an eye exam.  The same Jesus who healed those born with physical blindness in the Gospels is longing to correct our spiritual blindness.  And then we will receive the great gift of seeing God for who He really is!