Casting off Vision
'And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself."
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. '
Genesis 3:8-10,21
The advice of the US Army and likely optometrists and ophthalmologists is to follow a 20-20-20 rule to ward off digital eye strain by taking a 20-second break every 20 minutes and view something 20 feet away. Adam and Eve had the opposite problem. They took their eyes off the truth and the vision God had given them. When they had done that their entire view was flawed. They began to see the world through the world's eyes, not God's eyes. They viewed the perfection that God had created with shame and corrupted eyes. They hid. What had been lovely was now corrupt and needed covering.
There is a lot of theology that can be covered in v21, but I'm only going to look at one aspect. Because man and woman had depraved eyes, they needed covering. God made clothes for them from animal hides. The first death recorded is to cover man because of his distorted vision. He had cast off God's vision for his own, worldly view which twisted what God had given. God provided covering for man and does through the blood of Christ. God, through the blood, has given Christians new vision. He has given His Church His vision for all men.
'And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." '
Matthew 28:18-20
This is God's vision statement for His Church. Unfortunately, we have a problem in that we see with corrupt eyes. We as God's Church desire to see His vision fulfilled but we often stray from pursuing His vision because of our skewed view of success.
Numerous years ago I took an introductory ministry class that had us read Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome by Hughes. The book was an eyeopener to me. The ministry of the gospel, doing the work of the Kingdom, many times does not look like a success. It may often look like a complete failure. Following the vision that God calls you to may very well appear to be a failure in the eyes of the world. The world's eyes are corrupted. We must follow the vision that God has given. If we cast off His vision, we will indeed fail.
--What is God's vision for you?
Zine Smith
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. '
Genesis 3:8-10,21
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| (U.S. Army photo illustration) |
There is a lot of theology that can be covered in v21, but I'm only going to look at one aspect. Because man and woman had depraved eyes, they needed covering. God made clothes for them from animal hides. The first death recorded is to cover man because of his distorted vision. He had cast off God's vision for his own, worldly view which twisted what God had given. God provided covering for man and does through the blood of Christ. God, through the blood, has given Christians new vision. He has given His Church His vision for all men.
'And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." '
Matthew 28:18-20
This is God's vision statement for His Church. Unfortunately, we have a problem in that we see with corrupt eyes. We as God's Church desire to see His vision fulfilled but we often stray from pursuing His vision because of our skewed view of success.
Numerous years ago I took an introductory ministry class that had us read Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome by Hughes. The book was an eyeopener to me. The ministry of the gospel, doing the work of the Kingdom, many times does not look like a success. It may often look like a complete failure. Following the vision that God calls you to may very well appear to be a failure in the eyes of the world. The world's eyes are corrupted. We must follow the vision that God has given. If we cast off His vision, we will indeed fail.
--What is God's vision for you?
Zine Smith
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