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December 2003 Table of Contents
Food For Thought
The Image of the Invisible
By Derric Johnson
 A general and his lieutenant boarded a train and sat in a compartment facing a grandmother and her beautiful teen-age grand daughter. They ignored each other except for the quick introductions until the train sped into a dark tunnel. In the blackness they all heard the same two sounds... a kiss and a slap.
The girl asked herself, "I’m glad the Lieutenant kissed me... but why did Grandma slap him?"
The grandmother thought, "How dare that Lieutenant kiss my granddaughter. But at least I'm proud of her for slapping him."
The General mused, "Good for the Lieutenant seizing that opportunity! He has a better eye for beauty than I thought. But I wonder why she slapped me?"
The Lieutenant was smiling... because how often does a man get to kiss a pretty girl and slap a general at the same time?
We don't always understand what we think we understand... and I'm not sure we see what we see. It's like the old parable of the glass with a few gulps of water. The optimist sees the glass as half full, the pessimist sees it as half empty... and the realist sees it as just one more thing to wash.
And sometimes we look right through sight... and see nothing at all. A kiss has been defined as a means of getting two people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with each other.
Or try this... an argument is something it's easy to see both sides of... if you're not really concerned about either. All of the above is called "selective vision"... seeing only what we want to see and understanding only what we choose to receive. A child will believe you when you tell him there are 400,000,000 stars in the universe... but he will have to stick out a finger to test the WET PAINT sign.
We do not see things as they are. We see things as we are... and we work diligently to convince ourselves and everyone else that things must go our way. It's hard to get people to rearrange their biases... "I just don't see it that way!" or move them to a stretch of faith... "seeing is believing."
We have to learn to see what we don't see. My Dad use to say only those who see the invisible can do the impossible. To see the seeds in an apple... that is reality. But to see the apples in a seed... that is vision.
In this day and age (the dirty-nasty-here-and-now), we need to find ways to lift our sights and look to the sky. We have for too long been victimized by the visible. That, of course, was Judas' biggest problem. He walked with Jesus for three years and saw the power and felt the strength of who He was and what He offered. If only he could force Jesus' hand, make Him come out against the Romans and establish the Kingdom as it rightfully should be... then everything would be perfect! The weight of the opportunity was too great and the wait for Jesus to do it His way was much too slow. So Judas tried to force the issue in Gethsemane. None of this invisible kingdom stuff for a man like Judas. He missed it all... both kingdoms... the here and the there. Just because he couldn't see what wasn't seeable.
Paul carried it even further in Colossians 1:15 when he describes Christ as "the image of the invisible." What an incredible description... to discern what cannot be seen.
Think about it... no one ever really sees God. We can only see where He has been. He works so silently and secretly that we seldom notice His presence or His miracle in the immediate sense of what's happening. It's after the fact that we shake our heads and clutch our hearts and say, "Only God could have done that!" His footprints are everywhere... we just must take the time to "see" them, every day in every way.
Now, as believers we may slowly be able to figure that out... but what about the world outside of our realm. How do they "see" God. Where do they pick up their image of the invisible. You know, it's kind of scary to think about... but the only picture they will have of Him is the Him they see in us.
That's why Peter could boldly say, "Look at us!" Do you remember that line from the story in Acts, chapter three, when he and John went up to the temple to pray. They found a man, lame from his mother's womb, sitting by the entrance to the sanctuary begging alms. Peter and John "fastened their eyes on him" and Peter said it... "Look at us!"
At first I felt that was terribly presumptuous and braggadocio. Peter... you should say, "Look to Jesus!" Shame on you! But, then on second thought, that is exactly what he did say. When he shouted "Look at us," that's because it's the first picture of Jesus this man would get... and if he didn't get this one, he might never get another glimpse.
Suppose you say, "Look at us!" What does the world see? Take this quiz...
- Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
- Name the last five Heisman Trophy winners
- Name the last five Miss America contest winners
- Name the last five Academy Award winners for best actor and actress
How did you do?
The point is that none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second rate achievers. The are the best in their field.... but the applause dies, awards tarnish, achievement are forgotten, accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here is another quiz. See how you do on this one...
- List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
- Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
- Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
- Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier? Here's the lesson... the people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money or the most awards. They are the ones that care. My Pastor says, "People don't care how much you know... until they know how much you care.
Like it or not... you are the image of the invisible to a lost world. What they see in you is what they believe about Him. You are casting a shadow. Make it a good one.
A woman pulls up to a red light behind another car. She notices the driver of the car in front of her is talking on his cell phone, and appears to be shuffling through some papers on the seat beside him. The signal turns green, but the man doesn't notice the light change.
The woman begins pounding on her steering wheel, and yelling at the man to move! The man's car stays absolutely motionless. The woman is going ballistic inside her car, ranting and raving at the man, pounding on her steering wheel and dashboard.
The light turns yellow. The woman begins to blow her car horn and scream curses at the man. He finally hears the commotion, looks up, sees the yellow light and accelerates through the intersection just as the light turns red.
The woman is beside herself, screaming with frustration as she misses her chance to get through the intersection. Still in mid-rant, she hears a tap on her window and looks up into the barrel of a gun held by a very serious looking policeman.
The officer tells her to shut off her engine while keeping both hands in sight. She complies and is speechless at what is happening. He orders her out of the car directs her to turn and place her hands on the roof. She does that and then is quickly cuffed and hustled into the patrol car.
The woman is too bewildered by the chain of events to ask any question as she is driven to the police station where she is fingerprinted, photographed, searched, booked and placed in a cell.
After a couple of hours a policeman approaches her cell and opens the door. She is escorted back to the booking desk where the original officer is waiting with her personal effects. As he hands her the bag with her things, he says, "I' sorry for this mistake, but you see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn and cussing a blue streak at the car in front of you. I noticed the "CHOOSE LIFE" license plate holder, and the "FOLLOW ME TO SUNDAY SCHOOL" bumper sticker, and the chrome plated "CHRISTIAN FISH EMBLEM" on the trunk... so naturally I assumed you had stolen the car.
Remember... it is not our responsibility that every person comes to Christ. But it is our responsibility that Christ comes to every person.
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