“A mark of an everyday mystic is that they see God through a new lens.”

“Now we see through an obscured lens.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

When I left my previous profession and church I began to experience God in a new way.  I read the scriptures differently; I saw Jesus in a new light (as a Lover and Forgiver); I started to see others and myself not as “sinner”, but as beloved children of God.  As I did so, I realized that much of what I had believed was a result of what I had been told; or perhaps better said HOW I had been told.  So, I did my best to set aside the training and teachings that had been such a significant part of my theological training and years in ministry and put on a new pair of glasses so that I could see God differently.  It was delightful! I was no longer filtering everything through the lens of Lutheran doctrine and dogma.  It was as if I was seeing a new way of not only seeing but experiencing God, through the eyes of my heart.

Last week I said that this week we would look at how to quiet the mind, so why am I writing about this topic?  Precisely because this past week I was reminded of how obscured and occluded our vision of God and interpretation of the scriptures can be when we allow the lens through which we see and read them to become covered.    The passage that reminded me of this is 1 Corinthians 13.  Other than John 3:16 this is probably one of the most familiar passages in the bible.  And as the old cliché goes, “familiarity breeds contempt.”

Now, I would ask you, what do you think of when you hear or read this passage?  Perhaps a wedding ceremony?  That’s where it’s often-times heard.  Or maybe about what a failure we are at loving like we’re supposed to?  Or maybe about someone who has loved us well . . . or not.

We hear “Love is patient”, and we think of all the times we’ve been impatient with others we are supposed to love. 

We hear “Love is kind”, and we think of how unkind others can be. And so can we.

We hear “Love love keeps no record of wrongs”, and we think of all the ways we’ve been wronged, be it by other people, those who were supposed to love us, or even by God. And then perhaps we dig out our mental laundry list of how we have wronged others, which allows us to take the plunge into the cesspool of guilt.

That’s a normal and natural way of reading this passage, and the scriptures in general, through the lens of our own limited experience and understanding.  But what if we were to read this passage in a new way?  If we were to put on the eyes of God, so to speak, and see it through the lens of God’s love?  Allow me to give you an example of this.  Imagine that God is speaking the following to you:

My love for you is patient . . . I will wait for you.  Forever.  And I will never give up on you.

My love for you is kind . . . I care SO much for you!

My love for you is not selfish . . . I give to you Myself. And I will never force myself upon you.

My love for you is not arrogant or prideful . . . it’s not about Me.  I don’t expect anything in return from you.  You are not obliged to do anything for me.  In fact, I don’t even expect you to love Me.

My love for you keeps no record of your wrongs—or sins.  I am not keeping a laundry list that I will bring up and use against you at some later date.  Nor will I punish you for anything you’ve done or said.  ANYTHING.

My love for you is not jealous or resentful of anyone or anything that you love more than or instead of Me.

My love for you will patiently bear anything from and for you.  You can’t do anything that will ever make Me stop loving you, or love you less.

My love for you believes in you.  Not only do I believe the best about you, but I want the best FOR you!

My love hopes for the best for you.  I hope that you have a life filled with love, and that you experience love, My love, sometimes hidden, and sometimes clearly obvious.

My love never, ever fails.  I will always be near you—even when you aren’t aware of it.  I will never desert you. I will never divorce you. 

My love for you will never, ever die.  Others around you who love you will die, but I won’t.  I can’t.  I Am . . . eternal love.  And one day I will bring you home to live in that same eternal love.

Ahh . . . think about that.  Better yet, sit with it and let it soak in. Wow!  Now THAT is love!

I would invite you to read 1 Corinthian 13, not once or twice, but three times.  And then meditate upon it, asking God to reveal to you something that you haven’t seen before.  Perhaps write the verse or the insight on a small piece of paper. And then carry that, and God, and God’s love with you through the upcoming week.