Glasses
This week I got new spectacles. I have been wearing glasses since I was ten and I can never decide which frames I like. Initially I had the round pink NHS ones with the wire behind the ears – later made fashionable by John Lennon but then the butt of four-eyes jokes. I have, in my wardrobe, clothes of many different styles and colours, I do not confine myself to one pair of shoes but I only have one pair of spectacles. I cannot function without them and so they are always on display, the prohibitive price of the lenses means I do not have a different colour or design of frame for each outfit or mood. (Incidentally, Mark wears his old ones a lot of the time in case he spoils his good ones – I cannot see how this would happen nor the logic of living with worse vision than necessary but then he is a man!).
Is our Christianity the same as our glasses? One bland style for any eventuality, small changes (usually not noticed by anyone else) every couple of years. I know that, as with my spectacles, I cannot do a thing without Christ being involved. If I lack either I cannot see clearly in any situation, I cannot focus on what is important, but my lenses are not tinted and neither do I think being a Christian means we should see everything through a rosy glow.
Sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes people get hurt or hurt other people, intentionally or unintentionally. This does not mean God is uncaring or a bad father. He wants all of us to be a part of His family. His son, our Lord Jesus Christ, died on the cross so that we could all be saved but God also gave us free will and not everybody’s heart is yet with Him. He knows that some people will suffer physical pain and mental anguish before they realise the wonder of His gifts and that many will be led astray by the enemy. We are meant to care about our friends and relations but we are not meant to solve their problems ourselves. All we can do is pray, set a good example and let God handle the rest.
We know, from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, that not everything we are able to do is good for us. He exhorted the brethren to settle their differences as, being partakers in the Communion, they were all God’s temple. He pointed out the bad image they would be presenting to unbelievers if they could not put aside petty human arguments and concentrate on the work of God. The same goes for us. We do not have God’s wisdom but faith and prayer will show the way we should be going.
