CHURCH GIRLSample

Seeing Through the Right Lens

God also cares about the lens through which we look to understand ourselves, others, the world, and God: our worldview. When we have a Chris­tian worldview, we look through a biblically informed lens so we can see things as God intends.

When you have accurate vision, you will be able to discern truth from error, you will walk in wisdom, you will have a healthy fear of the Lord, you won’t easily be deceived, and you will be more sensitive to the activity of the devil and better equipped for spiritual warfare (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). When you have accurate vision, you will be able to suffer well, love well, make wise choices, perceive the will of God, and recognize the voice of God (John 10:27); and you will have greater confidence and trust in the Bible as the primary instruction for life.

Other lenses—such as educa­tion, gender, culture, privilege, and pain—influence our vision. For instance, as a Black woman who is the descendant of slaves and who has experienced racism and various other forms of discrimination, I read the Exodus story and see that God is a just and on-time liberator, fighter, and deliverer for me just as he was for his people when they cried out to Him. But if someone reads the same text through the lens of trauma, that person could see God as cruel for allowing His people to be enslaved to the Egyptians and unloving for allowing them to wan­der in the wilderness for forty years with only manna and quail to eat.

That’s why we also need love to see well. God wants His perfect and unfailing love for us to be the tint on our lens, coloring everything we see. God doesn’t do anything that isn’t rooted in love, as we see in Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. But God doesn’t just love us in action, “God is love” in being (1 John 4:16). Seeing Scripture with the tint of God’s love helps you presuppose his goodness, even when reading descriptive passages that reveal the evil of humanity or prescriptive passages that at first glance feel unfair.

If we are going to have reliable vision for our lives, we need light, the right lens, and the tint of God’s love.

What lenses do you use to see the world right now?