Five Days of Sensing God: A 5-Day Reading Plan by Mandy SmithExemplo

Day Five: Knowing God Through Our Sense of Sight

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:9 Revelation 21:10-22:5

The book of Revelation, as a record of the visions seen by John is, by its very nature, a very visual book. Some of its scenes are beautiful, some are deeply disturbing, but all of them are saturated with color. Throughout the book we see vivid depictions of the two-sided nature of the Christian life—we are suffering but victorious, we are crushed but not overcome. But as we get towards the end of the book, the suffering, crushed parts of the visions begin to fade and the victorious parts begin to shine, untainted. So after so much tension between good and evil, pain and joy, we almost have to squint to take in the beauty described in chapters 21 and 22.

We’re invited to visualize the Holy City of God, the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven, glowing like gold, shining like jasper, clear like crystal. This is a great, square city, fortified with majestic walls, each wall studded with towering gates, each gate made of a single, spectacular pearl. This city is built on profound foundations, which themselves refract the light of twelve different kinds of precious stones. And down the center of this city flows the river of the water of life, clear as crystal. On either side of this river grows a tree, but not just any tree—a tree bursting with life, laden with many kinds of fruit, flourishing all year long. 

But the most beautiful, most delightful thing about this whole city is the one who shines over it all, the Presence which ensures there is no longer any need for moon or sun or lamp. Of all the marvelous, miraculous things to be seen in this city, this is the greatest vision God’s servants will see: God’s own face.

When John is at a loss for words to describe the visions he’s given, he uses the most beautiful thing he can think of—this world. This world we inhabit may not yet be in its fullness but God reveals himself to us every day through light, color, shapes just as we see in Revelation’s vision of heaven. And although heaven may be beyond our limited imaginations, when we see it, something about it will seem familiar because the world we’ve inhabited our whole lives was made by the same Creator who cries, “Behold, I make all things new!” (Revelation 21:5)

Respond:

Close your eyes for a minute or two. Be conscious of the lack of visual input.

Now open your eyes and look around you. Take in these different elements one at a time, giving each a few minutes before moving to the next:

What colors do you see? Within each hue, are there various shades?

What shapes do you see? Are there letters and numbers? Geometric shapes? Organic shapes?

Take note of how light responds to objects around you. Where does it reflect? Where is it absorbed? Where does it shine through something?

Of all the sights you see around you, is there one thing you’re drawn to? Perhaps something you’re noticing in a new way?

How could taking time to pay attention to the things we see help us see God in new ways?