Sunday, April 30, 2006

All Us Folks!


None of us is seen from the surface, or even by carefully examining all of the sides. We, like the picture of this iceburg forwarded in from Canada, only reveal a very minute portion of ourselves to those around us. God, on the other hand, knows us and sees us through and through. Perhaps that is another reason getting close to God makes folks somewhat uneasy. I can't imagine the size of the pictured burg, but if one was only looking at it from the surface perspective think of all you are missing. So it is for the people with whom we come in contact each day of our lives. We only see a teeny tiny bit of them, and that, for most of us is hidden as best we can. There is one part of us that we cannot hide when we're with another person one on one, though.
The eyes are the mirrors of the soul, and as such they reveal much more than the outward appearance that is often taken for granted. I suppose this, too, could be overlooked, but if you really want to know who a person it is, it is necessary to get inside their eyes. If they will allow you to do that. Many people hide their eyes and try very hard to not let you see inside them. Books on criminology teach us that a person's truthfullness can be observed through the careful observation of the movements of the eyes. Spiritual leaders from all walks of life can share with us the truth of the "spirit" that shines through. In the circles I frequent that terminology goes something like, "I could just see the Christ shining through his\her eyes!" It's true! There is something about the believer that changes how their eyes shine in respect to their willingness to share the light behind them with others. Also, I might add from years of having worked behind the walls of the South Dakota State Penitentiary, one can see evil, insanity, and a host of other human ailments by simply looking into the eyes of the person.
Out here on the Great American Desert we don't ever get iceburgs like we have pictured here. An occasional pileup of ice on a river or lake, and once in awhile in the spring as the lakes are showing the first signs of "black ice" and large chunks separate from the main body of flow we see a distant mini-scale cousin of the iceburg. I'd like to visit one of these sometime. That way I could prove out one of those old axioms, "There's more to it than meets the eye."
As we roll the road of life that lies ahead it might be a very good thing to remember that "What you see" is not always, "What you get!" Usually what we get is much better than we deserve if we are riding the highway to heaven with the Lord running point and watching our six. In Christ's Love, Preacher.