Light Steps: Blinded by the Flash

Monday, March 19, 2007

Blinded by the Flash

Blinded by the Flash

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18 – New King James Version).

Has anyone ever surprised you with a quick snapshot at an unexpected moment? That can be traumatizing, especially when caught without makeup! Have you ever noticed how blinding that silly flash can be? It will confuse and disorient you for a few moments. Often, it can cause quite a bit of unrest. What last longer, the flash or the picture? The flash may blind us briefly, but the picture is what lasts.

Frequently, this is how we view our life. The time spent on earth is likened to the flash; blinding, confusing, and getting entirely too much attention. In comparison with the eternity with God that awaits the believer, life on earth is a fleeting flash.

Allow me some freedom for a moment. Paul tells the believers of Rome, “Looking at the awesome picture to come, that flash is not worth getting upset over.” Paul says, “I’m not going to get blinded by the flash, because it holds no comparison to the big picture.” Whatever suffering Paul had to face, he thought it peanuts compared to what he knew God had in store for him. The apostle understood that this world is a cruel place, but its proportional value was miniscule when laid next to the glory of God.

Now…what are you focused on? Are you being blinded by life (the flash)? Are you focused on the things of God (the picture)? No doubt life is a struggle, but the VICTORIOUS Christian understands that God is bigger and better than anything we may face. We have the Holy Spirit, which Paul calls “a foretaste of future glory” (Romans 8:23 - NLT), as a bit of heaven now. We know how good it is to be in the Spirit. What will it be like when we are in God’s presence all the time? WOW!

I love blackberries so much that I don’t mind the briars. I want the picture enough to ignore the flash. I want the fullness of God so much that the mess of this world does not hold candle to His glory! I can endure it. I can rejoice in spite of tribulation. God is so much MORE than all these troubles. The worst of this world is nothing beside the smallest thing of God.

So…are you being blinded? Listen friend, look at the picture…the big picture. Don’t let the flash mean more than the picture.

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This Says it for Me!

Every Christian is a contradiction to this old world. He crosses it at every point. He goes against the grain from beginning to end. From the day that he is born again until the day that he goes on to be with the Lord, he must stand against the current of a world always going the other way. God expects him to be "beside himself," "a fool for Christ's sake," "drunk on new wine." If he allows it, men will tone him down, steal the joy of his salvation, and reduce him to the dreary level of the general average. If the devil cannot keep us from being saved, he next endeavors to make average Christians of us, and in this he usually succeeds. He tames the holy recklessness of God's dare-saints until they sink into the drab pattern of most of us, "faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly dull." The devil does not mind our joining church if we behave like most of those who are already inside. But when a real, wide-awake Christian breezes along, taking the Gospel seriously, the devil grows alarmed and begins plotting his downfall. He gets plenty of assistance right in the church, for many church folk do not like to have their Laodicean complacency upset by these who turn the world upside down. So they conspire with Satan to turn the young Christian's fever into a chill. There are always plenty of human wet blankets to smother the zealot's flame, and they have put out more spiritual fires than have all the skeptics and infidels. -- Vance Havner

A Little About Me...

I was born in South Boston, VA, but was raised on the state line in the Person Co., NC - Caswell Co., NC - Halifax Co., VA region. I always tell people you know you are a country boy when your idea of being a "multi-national" means you've been to three counties in your lifetime.

Enough of my geographical meanderings...I became a Christian (ask me about THAT!) at the age of 25 and have done my utmost to serve God since that day. I worked as an associate pastor for 4 1/2 years and now serve in the role of Executive Director of My Life Matters, where I've been since March 2005, and I also serve as the pastor of East Rock Community Church, a church plant, along with fellow elders, Brett Carver & Casey Adams, where we've been since June 2007.

I love to write. I share a devotion in our local paper each week. This blog site is really just an extension of my writing. I really hope to share the Word of God with people...any kind of people, every kind of person. I also do a weekly podcast called "Light Steps Live," which can be found on several platforms.

Thanks for "stopping by"! Y'all come back now, ya hear?