Open For Interpretation…
Ecclesiastes 8:1 (Amplified Bible)
1WHO IS like the wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a thing? A man's wisdom makes his face shine, and the hardness of his countenance is changed.
God made us uniquely our own individual selves. We see things differently and we interpret things based on our life experiences, our vantage point, what is important to us, our understanding of family and our relationship with God. I noticed over the past few weeks as we have had the pleasure and honor of helping direct and orchestrate chapel, that each child saw their experience in this process, a bit differently. Some had no interest, some were interested only in the things that friends may have been interested in, or the things their parents encouraged them to pay close attention to. But the true interpretation of one child came out during a song, which caused all of the adults who caught it to be weak with laughter and with the observation of the interpretation of this particular song. The song was Hosanna, and the words simply said, “and the Children cried Hosanna, and the men cried Hosanna, and the women cried Hosanna, Hosanna to the King, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” This boy during the part where they say “when the…instead of this child singing the words that were written by the lyrist, He sang out, and when the “Mailman” cried Hosanna...Oh my Goodness, in that moment the adults that caught it were simply weak. Somewhere in his brain, the mailman was crying Hosanna, whew….
I love how God uses each one of us, and He doesn’t just allow us to see from the vantage point that we are presently in. It is interesting because we see because of what is important to us. We interpret through the eyes and the understanding in which we cultivate, by our growth, development or lack thereof, and who is number one within our lives. Often when we see a perspective that others cannot see, or we interpret life and the issues or scenarios in life differently, it is because the dynamics in our life have allowed us a vantage point that others have not experienced or have not encountered. But I have found also that when you truly hunger and thirst after God our vantage point, our interpretation and perspective will not be as everyone else’s. We will often find ourselves looking being misunderstood, and our motives being judged harshly because we interpret and see the world and all in it with new eyes and a perspective that does not often mimic others. Just like a child who sees the mailman crying Hosanna, and we will see things from a view point that is not likely to flow well, with others, because they lack the frame of reference that we have being in Christ.
I have one major lesson that is vital to my peace and my sanity and that is I would rather see through the eyes of Christ than through eyes that may see the negative before the positive or misunderstand before it seeks, understanding. We are all open to interpretation, but we have to be aware of how we filter things, how we process information and how we disseminate information. We have to be careful not to hurt people or misjudge them, based upon a flawed frame of reference or one that sees through the eyes of hurt, insecurity, fear, jealousy or misalignment. We should seek to ask the questions, what does God want, what does He see and What would He do? When we evaluate as God would according to His word and His character and attributes, we are usual able to see what the natural eye would never pick up. If we are looking without God we are bound to make it hard on others and often make ourselves look like someone unrestrained and undisciplined. Take care in your method of interpretation, and your evaluation, you just never know when we might be the one being interpreted.
No comments:
Post a Comment