You are what you see

images-1Do you struggle to find wholeness under the banner of Christ? Do your thoughts, actions, and emotions so often work at cross-purposes with each other? Does sin hamper your life and pull you down? Are your attempts at self-improvement short-lived and unsuccessful? If you answered yes to any of these questions, perhaps it is time to consider what fills your vision and captures your heart.

As Michael Reeves puts it in his book Rejoicing in Christ, “Only through knowing and relying on [Christ] can we become like the living God and share his vitality.”[1] “Become like the living God” . . . is this possible? “Share in his vitality” . . . Lord, may it be so in my life. But how? Reeves continues:

It means that before anything else it matters where we look. Before anything else it matters what fills our vision. For whatever it is that occupies our attention (or to use Jesus’ words, whatever it is that “remains” in us), that will steer and shape our every thought, motive and action. You are what you see.[2]

You are what you see (NB: for those readers who are philosophers, I am not using the “is” of identity here. I am not identical to what I see. Rather, my point is psychological, or spiritual: our soul/character is formed, in a large part, by that which we attend to with our mental life).  If we want wholeness and life and happiness—then we must look to the source: Jesus Christ. If we look to anything else, our lives will be full of small things. Wholeness, vitality, and godliness will remain elusive.

So, as you go about your day, invite Jesus into your every thought. Mediate on his beauty, his goodness, his righteousness, is faithfulness. Trust him for your relationships, your projects, your hopes and fears. Invite him into your play and rest (for he is there anyhow). Ask him to give you a desire for him alone as your only hope in this life and the next. And as you look to him, allow him to change your vision. Begin to see things through his eyes. As you do, his life, his perspective, his vitality, his righteousness will seep into the depth of your being. You will be changed. May we all, who are followers on the Way, be like the Psalmist who cries out:

“Look to the Lord and his strength, seek his face always.” (Psalm 105:4)

[1] Michael Reeves, Rejoicing in Christ (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015), 101.

[2] Ibid.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *