Do You See What I See?

There are countless numbers of optical illusions. This one pictured here is one of the more well known. Depending on what you focus your attention on will determine if you see a fancy vase, or profiles of two people facing each other. The profiles are in the black, and the vase is in the white.

Part of the reason optical illusions work is because we don't "see" with our eyes, we "see" with our brain! Our eyes form the image into electrical impulses, but our brain interprets the impulses into the image that we are seeing. Depending on all the factors that influence our brain, will largely determine how our brain interprets that image.

The most amazing optical illusions I have ever seen are the ones that are the 3D pictures. At first glance you see a brightly colored pattern on the paper, then you can train your eyes to see a three dimensional depth, and then you can pick out shapes and objects hidden within the pattern! I have a book that does the same thing only in FIVE dimensions!

Funny thing is that believe it or not, the Bible can be a lot like an optical illusion! Remember we do not see with our eyes, we see with our brain, and the fact is that many people's brain are trained to read what they think it says, and not what it really says! I am sure that happens to all of us! Many times I have even caught myself reading something where someone points out the wording of a verse, and I remember it differently, only to check it out and find out I was wrong!

There are other verses, where I see people quote it wrong all the time, and it goes unnoticed. Such as Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are THE called according to his purpose. Many people leave out the word THE.

Something that I think happen the majority of times, is when  people will quote verses that do not say what they think they say. For instance, in defense of eternal hell, a verse often quoted is Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  Now, it talks about eternal life, but there is no mention of eternal death nor of hell either! But for those who are convinced there is such a thing as hell, this verse is often used as if to prove such a thing.

How about the verse from Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" When ever I hear this verse quoted, I never ever hear it quoted in context! But if you were to just read 1/2 of the next verse it says "So Christ was ONCE offered to bear the sins of many;" Don't you see, that since it was appointed unto man to die, because the wages of sin is death, then Christ died the once for man because HE was the One who paid the wages for sin for ALL men!

How many people when they read the Old Testament see a God who is full of wrath, and anger and vengeance, and then they read the New Testament, and see Jesus who is gentle and merciful and loving and kind, and they treat it as though they are not the same being? And yet, the Old Testament is FULL of verses that talk about the merciful and loving kindness of God! His mercies are knew every morning. His mercy is everlasting. Taste and see that the Lord is Good. And yet, many accuse God falsely of ignoring the cries of mankind, and seeking only to punish and impose harsh judgements!

Read Genesis 6:3 "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."  Now, I have always read that verse as if God were saying, "There is only so much I will take from man! I will only strive with them for so long and then WHAM! I am going to let them have it!" But that is NOT what the verse says!! It is really a verse of a promise of hope! What it is really saying is that while the process of this flesh existence may seem like forever in comparison to our existence with Him, the strife that is between us will not last forever, it will end, and then we can be restored!!

The question is, whether we are willing, when presented with new information, if we will consider that information in light of what we already believe even if it contradicts what we believe to be true? Some people are not interested in anything that differs from what they are comfortable with believing. They are not interested in the Truth as much as they are interested in being convinced they already believe the truth. Their answer might be like saying "My mind is made up... don't confuse me with the facts!

But just because we believe something to be true does not necessarily make it so. We may even implicitly trust the person or persons who told us, and that does not make it true either. They may either be deceived themselves, or have ulterior motives. Consider being told about the tooth fairy, and the Easter bunny, and of course Santa Clause. Ulterior motives with intent to deceive? Sure! Harmless? Okay.

Okay, but what about Biblical doctrine? Ah, there's the rub, as they say. Well, to start with, I was raised in a Catholic family. Not strictly so, but with that influence, however I did not believe in God as a kid. I could not sense any life or reality going to a Catholic church. Then when I was going on 17, some events transpired in my life, where God was beginning to make Himself known to me in very subtle ways.

Growing up I was involved in doing magic! I intended in my immature youthful mind to do magic as a career, but I left home when I was 16, and had to make a living, before I could make a living doing magic. As it turns out, I spent some time in Niagara Falls Ontario, and while there, I saw an advertisement for a magician doing a show in town, and I went to see him. Andre Cole was his name, and little did I know at the time, that he was a Christian magician. He had an intermission part way through his show, and indicated that people who did not wish to partake of his message in magic could leave without embarrassment. I did not know what he meant, nor did I care, I just wanted to see more magic. 

He did do a couple of great tricks, but he also had a biblical message to tell that blended in with the tricks that he performed. I was spell bound, and afterward, they handed out cards to fill out if you wanted more information about Jesus. I filled it out, still in this "fog" of wonderment. I was staying in a motel at the time, and the day some pamphlets came, I had a visitor, and I threw them out because of embarrassment.

God was not done with me yet! This was just one of the first steps He was taking to reveal Himself to me, and the steps continue to this day! From that day, till this has been quite a journey! I have gotten to see some amazing things, and to SEE some amazing Truth! It is in my heart right now to write the next couple of posts about how some of the steps progressed in this Human Journey that I am on. I will try to explain the way I saw certain truths as I was being taught them. I will try to explain how my belief in those truths changed over the years, to give a general overview of what I believe to be true now. Perhaps along the way we will find out if You See What I See!