seeing is believing ..

we like to know that we know what we know ..

but what we know is so pitifully scant
   so coloured by our parents our society our education our politics our religion
   and internet
   and media and things
   and moneymoneymoneymoooo-ney
that it's really not knowing at all ..
it's imbibing what we're told and taught by the 'knowers'
      who themselves are coloured
   taking them at facevalue
   swallowing their take on it as if it was absolute ..

and our lives reflect our shallow understanding ..
we barely get our feet wet
   afraid of the deeper darker can't-see-clearly sharky depths
   hugging the shoreline ..
but we're ' in '
we think we have it
   while we kick at the water by the seahore

spiritually we still find our nourishment from milk ..
we should be eating solid food (Hebrews 5.12) ..
the end of the one is immaturity
the other end is perception
..

one of the things that will help with that is a Godeyeview
and you get that through the spirit of God
not through handmedown sociology and theology

`|`

Jesus talked regularly about seeing
and he didn't mean seeing
he meant seeing
   as in seeing with a different eye
sorta like when he said " those who have ears to hear, listen .. "
   those weren't ears he was referring to
   it was a different kind of ear
      like that other eye

.. huh ?


`|`

o there are all those ' facts ' flying around
those lists
of things that make us sure
   confident
   guardians of truth, brandishing our bibleswords
   threatening people with hell
and those lists
   of people who are sinners! dammit!
   look at him!
   she oughta be ashamed!
 
promising salvation through rapture
   escape
      when salvation is all about God
      bringing us up out of slavery in the land of Egypt
      into a new and different kingdomland
         here and now
         as in the present ..

everybody's got a list ..

..

maybe it's time to switch over
like changing internet providers
   change the feed
start surfing a different internet
   God's feed

maybe shut down the eyes i been seeing with
so i can see with a different eye
   God's eye

`|`

ever thought-through that conversation the Man had with Pharisee Nicodemas ? ..

like, " you mean you're an expert in God's Law, and teach people,
   and you don't understand what i'm saying ? what's with that, Nick ? "
why would Jesus say that to this dude that's trying to understand who he is and where he's from and what strange things he's teaching ..
because N was looking at it with his regular eyes
   not with his other eye
and apparently he didn't even know he couldn't see
   or that he could see
      with his other eye
that there was another way of seeing

so Jesus told him he had to be born a different way
   he had to have new eyes
and ol' Nick responds with " you mean climb back into my mum ? " .. .

so Jesus has another go at it ..
" naw, man. this is another kind of born, a spiritbirth
it doesn't have anything to do with a physical birth
it's a spirit thing, and when the Spirit moves she moves like the wind - you can't tell whether she's coming or going or where she's coming from either; kinda like a powerful gust of wind .. "

..

my favourite is Jesus' warning about walking around judging people
   somehow that can't work
      not a bit
'cause there's this log in my eye
   as in tree-size, bark and all ..
he said to work on getting the log out of my eye
   instead of trying to pick-out the speck
   in somebody else's
      as in dust-size minuscule can't-hardly-see-it ..

you think he was talking my eye that sits next to my nose ?
.. not

maybe what he was saying was " listen mate .. your stuff is always more than other people's stuff - bigger, heavier, nastier, so much more pukish
   deal with that ..
forget the other guy .. start chipping away at that huge tree sticking out of your eye "


that's a different eye

..

in Matthew 13 Jesus refers to Isaiah talking about people who can't hear and can't see
and Jesus says " but you are blessed because your eyes see and your ears hear .. "
.. don't think he was referring to 20/20 vision ..
he was talking about spiritual perception
attuned to the spirit of God

`|`

Jesus was not at all about condemnation
or judging
making-a-fool-of
pointing out people
   or their stuff
shaming
categorizing
blaming people for their life-failures, like " that's God's judgement on you because you .. "
.. which is the way we tend to think
      think scapegoating

why?
why didn't he do that ?
shouldn't he be doing that ?
he knew God and God's standards better than anyone
so why not ?

because
we're caught
trapped
like that deer with it's leg clenched by metal trapteeth
   bleeding-out
   waiting to die ..
and Jesus is all about grace and mercy and love
all about ..

Jesus didn't come here to condemn anybody ..
" see? told ya not to mess with that trap .. "
   check it out
he came to release
to set the captive free
to bring light
   and he brought light to everyone
      as in all people everywhere
   check that out too
      you'll find both in John, chapter 3 and chapter 1
..

Jesus was all about loving people
and love doesn't point fingers ..
it embraces
all
even the liar/thief/prostitute/addict/lgbt/other-religion-person/etc etc etc etc

and Jesus stamped that love with his horrific death on a torturous cross ..
so there ..

`|`

so, ya, there's this other seeing
   a sight that sees through the crap we've been fed from the crib on up
   and rejects the judgmental see that points fingers
but you have to be in tune with the Great Physician for that eye to work

..

.. it's quite unnatural
very weird
seriously foolish-looking
rubs the fur the wrong way
makes no sense
   when you lend, don't think of repayment
   when you help, look to go the extra mile
   need this coat ? here, take these shoes too
   neighbour lost his ass in the well ? jump in and help get it out
      even if it's sunday
      even if ..

   and this really freaky one
      dude strike you? .. offer the other side of your face for his fist
            ?? wild or what ..
         cause know what? he's worth it, and rather than fight the guy
         let him see that you can take his lash and then take her other lash
         while looking her in the eye
            because you respect the image of God in her
                and you want her to know that ..
            because violence, even in self-defense, is unworthy of any human
               bearing Godimage
                  violence coming or going
            because you refuse to justify his first blow
               to return evil for evil
            because God values that person at an inestimable value
               as God does you
            because your Master took it, full frontal, with narry a retort
             
..

that takes vision
seeing through other eyes
seeing the One who justifies as your justifier
seeing others as more significant than you are
   even enemy-others and haters and judgers and muslims and jews and
   latino trans addict liar refugee whitesupremacist jihadist homosexual thief ..
      even him/her ..
and that's about as tall an order as you can get

`|`

it's not an easy thing to do
   i know .. i know
it takes a bunch of want
a serious amount of effort
a longing, as in hunger and thirst longing (Matthew 5) for righteousness
a boatload of souldesire to be like Jesus
   as in like there's nothing i want more ever
..
especially when i keep falling flat on my face
walking into walls
falling into deep deep holes that are gaggishly sickening with my filth
..
but hey ..
remember Jesus said " i got you, mate .. i got you "
   can't remember the reference ..
..

look to see with your spirit
reject the inyourface eye
head for the other eye

and Jesus winked ..


peace to you