"Be Thou My Vision"

"As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more,

“Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him,

“What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God."

Luke 18:35-43

I sit at lunch today and drink a probiotic drink called "beauty." It's a tiny little vile consisting of all good things: water, pomegranate juice, green tea, black tea, probiotic cultures, apple/lemon/aloe juices. I guess the most obvious ingredient that makes it beautifying is the vegan collagen builder that's in it. I am assuming that this ingredient helps support your skin. It tasted yummy and I know it was good for me but I can't say that it made me feel more beautiful or see more beauty.

"Lord, I want to see," is what this blind beggar told Jesus and I find myself right there too. I find myself feeling this same way so often. I want to see God and I want to see everything else the way he sees it--I want to see beauty.

Ann Voskamp states: "Beauty requires no justification, no explanation; it simply is and transcends. Isn't my internal circuitry wired to seek out something worthy of worship? Every moment I live I live bowed to something. And if I don't see God, I'll bow before something else."

God is and will always be complete beauty and glory and we are all found as blind beggars. Our hearts were created to bow, to seek out the beauty, but sometimes we become blind, believe the lies and get lost in the darkness that we first were found in. When we are lost in the darkness we sometimes forget our need to cry out to the one who created us. If my heart and sight are lost in the darkness am I going to ask God to show me how to see again?

Ann continues and states: "I long to know beauty, breathe it into lungs, feel it heavy on skin. (Psalms 27:4) When the purity of Jesus lies over a heart, His transparency burns the cataracts of the soul. God is both the object of my seeing and the subject who does all the real seeing. 'Lord, turn me from seeing burdens to seeking beauty.'"

Then, there is the other question: do I trust that this beauty will fulfill each longing piece of my being? Do I trust that all that God is can fill all that I need; that he can help me to truly see again? For me the answer is yes. I trust that God will show me beauty and that I can be a part of this beauty. Each day I want to receive this seeing of beauty that comes only from God and I am beginning to realize that I can see more of God's beauty, character, and love for me through thankfulness. Sometimes, thankfulness feels so unnatural but I know that it opens my heart up to see more of God and his goodness. If I am not thankful, aren't I telling God that who he is and what he did for me on the cross and what he does for me each day isn't good enough? When ungratefulness enters my heart I turn from the goodness of God and stumble into the dark in search for something that I think will be better...and all I find is more darkness and less of God; I become blind again. Blindness in the dark doesn't bring praise to God, the one who created me. I don't want to stumble in the dark, I want my life to praise and bring honor to God and I want to know him more.

Are you stumbling around in the dark? Do you know that God loves you and wants to redeem you today and show you true beauty? Check out these verses!

John 3:16-21

Jeremiah 29:13

To seek beauty is to seek God.

"God,

'Be thou my vision,' I want to see more of you in everything.

I want to know and see the fullness of your beauty."