Take a look at this picture.
What kind of feelings does initially it evoke? It is not a very beautiful picture. The trees are bare. It looks cold. You are looking up a steep hill and can’t tell what is on the other side. Maybe you get a feeling of being lost in the woods on a cold winter day? If you are not wearing winter cloths and have been out there for a long time you may well be suffering from exposure, hunger, thirst and getting pretty anxious to find your way out of there.
Now look at this scene another way. Since the trees are bare you can see through them. You can see that the top of the hill is not very far away. From the top of the hill you may be able to see how to get out of the woods. The sky is clear and bright so you know there is no storm threatening and you have plenty of daylight left to get back home. You might even feel a little joy that you can see your way to the top even while your tootsie’s are freezing off.
In the summer the trees and thicket would be covered with so many leaves you would only be able to see a few yards ahead of you and the sky would be blocked. Even though the woods may look more pretty and inviting in the summer you would have no idea how much farther up the hill you must trudge to get to the top. You may be warm, but you are still hungry, thirsty and most of all lost. The situation may look better but you are still suffering (especially if the mosquitoes are attacking you from the poison ivy you just walked through).
We normally think that we will either experience joy or suffering, not both at the same time. An enlightened way of seeing this winter scene is an analogy of what Paul is talking about when he wrote from prison that he could feel spiritual joy even while physically suffering. Joy can co-exist with suffering if you perceive it in a new way, by a new light, by His light. The trees may be bare and not very attractive, but it is their bareness that lets you find your way out of the woods. Paul experienced joy while suffering the bareness of his imprisonment by living in and sharing Christ’s light to his guards, letters to fellow Jesus followers and, by virtue of those letters to the rest of the world as a major part of the New Testament.
Another related analogy. We too should be willing to bare ourselves to others. When we strip away our self protective leaves and let them fall away we are willing to show others our bare limbs, our faults, our sufferings... and our joy of being able to see clearly through the trees and avoid the obstacles in our path to the top of the hill by light of Christ. We help ourselves and help others because we are allowing the light to shine through us onto them.
Most people would rather spend time looking at a forest of beautiful trees, green in the summer and colorful in the fall. But, since it is winter and there is nothing but bare trees to photograph, I decided to find the beauty of my circumstances by looking at the bare woods through a Jesus camera. Instead of waiting for spring to photograph the new buds, blooms and foliage I found some beauty in the bareness. I also almost froze my ears and fingers off while tromping about in the frozen woods, so I hope you found some joy through my suffering to take the photo and write this story. If all I did was make you suffer through this story, I take no joy in it (grin)
a Robservation
01-15-09
What kind of feelings does initially it evoke? It is not a very beautiful picture. The trees are bare. It looks cold. You are looking up a steep hill and can’t tell what is on the other side. Maybe you get a feeling of being lost in the woods on a cold winter day? If you are not wearing winter cloths and have been out there for a long time you may well be suffering from exposure, hunger, thirst and getting pretty anxious to find your way out of there.
Now look at this scene another way. Since the trees are bare you can see through them. You can see that the top of the hill is not very far away. From the top of the hill you may be able to see how to get out of the woods. The sky is clear and bright so you know there is no storm threatening and you have plenty of daylight left to get back home. You might even feel a little joy that you can see your way to the top even while your tootsie’s are freezing off.
In the summer the trees and thicket would be covered with so many leaves you would only be able to see a few yards ahead of you and the sky would be blocked. Even though the woods may look more pretty and inviting in the summer you would have no idea how much farther up the hill you must trudge to get to the top. You may be warm, but you are still hungry, thirsty and most of all lost. The situation may look better but you are still suffering (especially if the mosquitoes are attacking you from the poison ivy you just walked through).
We normally think that we will either experience joy or suffering, not both at the same time. An enlightened way of seeing this winter scene is an analogy of what Paul is talking about when he wrote from prison that he could feel spiritual joy even while physically suffering. Joy can co-exist with suffering if you perceive it in a new way, by a new light, by His light. The trees may be bare and not very attractive, but it is their bareness that lets you find your way out of the woods. Paul experienced joy while suffering the bareness of his imprisonment by living in and sharing Christ’s light to his guards, letters to fellow Jesus followers and, by virtue of those letters to the rest of the world as a major part of the New Testament.
Another related analogy. We too should be willing to bare ourselves to others. When we strip away our self protective leaves and let them fall away we are willing to show others our bare limbs, our faults, our sufferings... and our joy of being able to see clearly through the trees and avoid the obstacles in our path to the top of the hill by light of Christ. We help ourselves and help others because we are allowing the light to shine through us onto them.
Most people would rather spend time looking at a forest of beautiful trees, green in the summer and colorful in the fall. But, since it is winter and there is nothing but bare trees to photograph, I decided to find the beauty of my circumstances by looking at the bare woods through a Jesus camera. Instead of waiting for spring to photograph the new buds, blooms and foliage I found some beauty in the bareness. I also almost froze my ears and fingers off while tromping about in the frozen woods, so I hope you found some joy through my suffering to take the photo and write this story. If all I did was make you suffer through this story, I take no joy in it (grin)
a Robservation
01-15-09
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