Vision: Glory to Glory
"We need a baptism of clear seeing. We desperately need seers who can see through the mist--Christian leaders with prophetic vision." - AW Tozer
I believe one of the biggest misconceptions in the Church today deals with the very vision that we hold. This vision pertains to many things: God, ourselves, others, etc. Vision plays a very powerful and influential role in the way people live and act. Scripture (Proverbs 29:18) is clear in revealing that "without prophetic vision (revelation) the people perish, but happy is the one who obeys the law." Think about it. Try driving someplace blindfolded and let me know how it ends up. This is the life-if you can call it that-that has no vision or has forgotten the image.
With this being said, I believe the Lord is calling us to a position of shifting our minds and hearts to align with His. If our vision of God is skewed we may just be missing out on the great things He has for us and others. If we see God as an angry, joyless father holding grudges and records of our wrongs, we may just miss the opportunity that has been made through Christ to be in right standing with God. We may just be missing out on the joyful songs and dances that God is inviting us to (Zeph. 3:17). If our foundational beliefs and vision of God are based on other's beliefs and visions, is this truly our vision? It is not a crime to partner with others in order to see and understand better, but it turns into robbery when we base our vision of God only the vision that others are proclaiming. My question for us is have we asked God? All too often so many come to me asking for advice and wisdom pertaining to a variety of situations. However, during these times I find myself asking, "Have you asked God", more than trying to respond with a formulaic concept that may not work in their context. This carries into the reality of how we view God, and I want to argue it starts with you looking. I can tell you that God is love (1 Jn. 4:7-16), but if you don't see this and live from it, whose vision are you living from? If all you've ever heard about God is from others, but you have never experienced God, how can we really call this vision belonging to you? My challenge: ask God how He looks. You will be surprised by how beautiful, creative, and awe-inspiring God's love is when you ask for a vision of it.
This carries into the ways in which we see ourselves and others. If our foundational image of God is based off of others' perspectives, I can guarantee our vision of ourselves and others have been shaped more than needed by these perspectives as well. Again, the challenge is rooted in overcoming what may not be truth by rooting ourselves in truth, and affirming this truth consistently. I believe that people without vision react, and that people with vision respond. This is revealed in the ways in which we see ourselves and others. If we know who we are, how God sees us, and base our identity in Christ's work and productivity rather than ours, we may find ourselves responding out of eternal love rather than temporal pride. I pray that we would a people who no longer just hear the Word, and not do it. I recently heard a pastor, Katherine Ruonala, speak about this passage from James 1. She exhorted everybody to see that God is not angry with those who only hear the Word and do not do it. She reminded us that God simply looks at those who are only hearing, and says, "You've forgotten what you look like." How much would we respond in love if we always remembered what we look like? How much would our reflection be based upon the mirror of Christ rather than our own mirrors of destruction? My challenge: ask God how He sees you and why. You will be impacted by the cautious, valuing, and acceptance-proving words that are spoken and depicted in your heart.
If our vision of God and ourselves is aligned in the Word and the Lord's truth, I believe the way we view others shifts from pride to love. We would recognize the value of God, ourselves, and others, and we would probably end up treating people based upon the worth that Christ has proclaimed. I once heard Todd White say, "The value of something is always determined by the price paid for it. And if heaven went bankrupt for us, that means we are valued at a high price." If our vision of others would be shifted to see people through the lens of Christ who has revealed their value, we would be treating others with kindness although they do not deserve (because we surely do not). We would be those who proclaim and prophesy reality into the midst of lies, lay down our lives for people to know they are friends, and we would give unconditional value to our neighbor-both near us and far way.
Our vision should ever be in an upward transition from glory to glory. If the veil has born torn-which it has-and we are able to see what we once were unable to see, maybe we ought to live in this reality. I believe our settling for less than who God is, less than what Christ has laid ahold of for us, less than the presence of the Holy Spirit, and less than who we and others are, we are dishonoring God, others, and ourselves. Paul reminds the Roman Church (Romans 12:10) to "outdo one another in honor". If our vision is not aligned with the vision of and from God, we cannot live out honor. However, when we allow God to be God, and settle for nothing less, we may find ourselves in a position in which we see the way God sees, love the way God loves, and live the life abundant and eternal that has been graciously provided.
In the end, are we to be the people who settled in moving from bummer to bummer, or never allowed fantasy and lies to overcome the reality and truth of who God is and who we are. Below is a blessing that I wrote, and I encourage you to read it, pray it, declare it, and share it. It is also in my book that you can find through WestBow Press. Thanks for taking the time to read, and I pray the Lord's vision would be our vision, moving us from glory to glory.
Blessing over the Self
By: Cam Beyenberg (an excerpt from expressions on eARTh, as it is in heaven)
Today, I declare that I believe in God. The Holy Trinity. The Father. The Son. The Holy Spirit. I believe God is Love(1 John 4:8), Truth (Jn. 16:13), The Creator (Gen. 1-4), The Redeemer (Titus 2:14), Hope (1 Peter 1:3), Life (Col. 3:4), Liberty (2 Cor. 3:17), and The Only Way (Jn 14:1). God is The Author and The Finisher (Heb. 12:2), The Alpha and The Omega (Rev. 1:8), The Beginning and The End (Rev. 1:8). God is The Sustainer and holds all things together (Col. 1:17).
I believe I am the beloved child and heir to and with this One who loves me like nobody else (Rom. 8:14-17). I believe that I was created to be loved by God (Eph. 1:4-5) and that God, as Christ Jesus of Nazareth , The Lamb who was slain, revealed that love by dying in my place to cleanse/free me from sin, death, and the enemies of evil and myself (Jn. 3:16-17, Rom. 3-6). I believe God continues to love me by abiding in me, by choosing my body as the temple of The Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 3, 6, & 2 Cor. 6). As my present and promised restoring God dwells in me, and I in Him, I am being made new (2 Cor. 5:17 & Phil. 3:12), being saved from all things not of God (1 Cor. 1:18), and I am being made one with and in God (Jn. 17:21).
Today, I choose this God as Lord and Savior. I choose oneness over separation. I choose the character of God, who has revealed the fullness of human life as a man, Christ Jesus of Nazareth. Today, I choose to be loved, to love The Lord with all that I am, to love those around me as I love myself.
Today, my reaction is a response and my response is love that overcomes pride, faithfulness beyond selfish ambition, Life, Peace, The Fruits of the Holy Spirit, and Freedom from Glory to Glory. I am more than an overcomer (Rom. 8), a chosen priest (1 Peter 2:9), a part of the Kingdom (Rev. 1:6) through blood, a warrior (Eph. 6), a poet and poem, a piece of artwork displaying the image of God that Christ has renewed in me (Eph. 2:10), a friend of Jesus (15:15), a justified and redeemed man(or woman) (Rom. 3:24), a follower of Christ in victory (2 Cor. 2:14), a free man(or woman) (Gal. 5:1), a citizen of Heaven (Phil. 3:20), and I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine (SoS 2:17).
Today, I declare that in the midst of all things Christ is my vision (Prov. 19:28), Holy Spirit is present (Jn. 14:26), and The Father has not stopped loving me (Rom. 8:37-39). I believe in these declarations and choose a life of abundance (Jn. 10) and eternity (Jn. 17:3) through relationship with and oneness in my Living Hope: Yahweh, Yeshua, God. Amen.
