"A New Pair Of Glasses"

“And after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him,‘Do you see anything?’ The man looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around.’ Once more Jesus put His hands on the man’s eyes. The man’s eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.”
- Romans 8:23-25 (NIV)



If you have ever had trouble seeing, and then was able to put on a new pair of glasses, you probably realized just how bad your sight really was before you did it. If you’re like me, you may not have noticed that you weren’t seeing things clearly until after you put the glasses on. I think that’s how it is when we come to know Christ. We are looking at things one way, we ask Jesus to come in to our heart and life, and then we see things another way …a better way.


That’s how it was with the man in the scripture reference above. He was seeing things one way, in this case darkness. Jesus spits on the man’s eyes (yuck), and the man begins to see things in a new way. Jesus then touches his eyes and the man instantly sees things clearly!



And that’s how it was with me right after I got saved (asked Jesus to come in to my heart). Jesus had come in to my life in a very real way. I remember sitting down with a youth pastor, the one that led me to the Lord shortly afterwards and asking him: “Is it just me, or does the sky seem a lot more blue, the grass a lot greener, and the sun a lot brighter? Even the flowers seem to be a lot more colorful. It’s like I’ve put on a whole new pair of glasses.” The man just smiled and nodded knowingly.



You see, I had gone to church all my life, for as long as I could remember. I had attended many types of denominations; Community Of Christ (RLDS), Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Nazarene, you name it. If you were to ask me before this time if I was a Christian, I would have said “Yes”…because I had attended church all my life. But going to church does not make me a Christian. Just like going to “Starbucks” does not make me a cup of coffee.



It took me being put into a really tough situation, and almost losing everything that was important to me, to realize that I needed Jesus in my life…to realize I needed to see things from His perspective, and to ask the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and the ultimate optometrist…for a new pair of glasses.

The Boomerang

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
- Galatians 6:7 (NIV)





The Boomerang: A crude V shaped object, usually made out of wood, and used primarily for sport. Sometimes it is used for catching small animals. It’s primary purpose now days however is for sport. You throw it as hard as you can forwards, it circles around and then comes back to you…often at a speed that’s much faster than you threw it. I found that out the hard way when I was a kid.


I can’t remember how old I was exactly when my dad showed me for the first time how to throw one. I do remember that the thing was wooden, large, and heavy. He took me out in to this field. Doing as he instructed,I took the boomerang, grasped it by one of the ends, raised it above my head, and threw it just as hard as I could. The V shaped object went out, circled around…and came back at me with terrifying velocity.


I ducked just in the nick of time as the boomerang skimmed over the top of my head!
“Did I do it right?” I asked my dad. He nodded, smiled, and with a hint of laughter in his voice replied: “You got the right idea.”


This trip down memory lane came to me the other day. I don’t know why. But it got me to thinking: The art of boomerang throwing could be a metaphor for life; whatever you “throw forward”…will come back to you, and often with exciting or terrifying velocity. If you “throw” kindness (words, deeds, etc.) towards others, you’ll find kind words and deeds coming back at you. If you “throw” meanness (unkind words, unkind actions, etc.) towards others, you’ll find meanness coming back at you.


The apostle Paul writing to the Galatians was correct when he said: “A man reaps what he sows.” I think we all can take a lesson from that verse…and my harrowing boomerang experience. Let's work on sowing (and throwing) kindness, not evil.
We all know there’s enough of that going on in the world today.