Say what you see.

I like to watch quiz shows and puzzles on television.  There is one at the moment called 'Catchphrase' where you have to try and guess what saying is represented by the picture that is unfolding.  The presenter often says 'Just say what you see'.  Ha!, but that's not always so easy.  Sometimes contestants seem to say just about anything other than the correct answer, all the time of course we are shouting the answer at the television.  I also have a number of books called 'Dingbats' that are the same idea of guessing what saying is represented by the picture.  This only works of course if you have heard of the sayings otherwise you could be guessing for a long time without getting the right answer.

Then there are the puzzles that seem to be two different things depending on how you look at it.  In this picture on the right do you see some columns or six people?  There are many of this type of picture.  Some years ago there were computer generated pictures where if you looked in a particular way you could see a 3D image emerging from what seemed to be just a chaotic scene.  What you see is not always apparent immediately.  Sometimes you need to take a long hard look.  


I once saw all the letters of a sentence written altogether - GODISNOWHERE.  That could be interpreted in two ways depending on where you place the spaces between the words.  You could say GOD IS NOWHERE or GOD IS NOW HERE.  You've probably seen that before.  The point is that not everything is at it seems and people often see things differently.  Jesus was curious as to how people saw Him and so asked his disciples 'Who do men say that I am?' There were various answers but Peter saw the truth when he recognised Jesus as the Son of God.  

I was reminded recently at Easter of one of my favourite Godfrey Birtill songs:

When I look at the blood all I see is love, love, love
When I stop at the cross I can see the love of God.

But I can't see competition, I can't see hierarchy.
I can't see pride or prejudice or the abuse of authority.
I can't see lust for power, I can't see manipulation,
I can't see rage or anger or selfish ambition.

But I can't see unforgiveness, I can't see hate or envy,
I can't see stupid fighting or bitterness or jealousy.
I can't see empire building, I can't see self-importance,
I can't see back stabbing or vanity or arrogance.

I see surrender, sacrifice, salvation, humility, righteousness, faithfulness, grace, forgiveness.

How often do people seem to be one thing but turn out to be quite different when you get a closer look.  Or as a friend of mine says 'the outside and the inside don't match'.  It's not just about appearances of 'going to church' or abstaining from certain things/places/language.  Those things aren't the same as showing the love of God in our actions of daily living.  Reading again those words of the above song, as a Jesus follower I need to ask myself 'When people look at me, what do they see?'