When I was teaching, I often showed students that they didn’t see things the way they are. “Look at the door,” I’d say, “and tell me the shape you actually see.” “A rectangle,” they’d answer. “No, you can’t be seeing a rectangle.” Consternation. Finally someone who was trained in art would get it. “A trapezoid,” they would answer. Correct! Unless you are standing right in front of a door, you can’t see more than two parallel sides. The top and bottom are always receding into the distance.

I was reminded how this relates to church life by a video that Charlie Meier posted on Facebook. It showed some of the experiences a guest might have when coming to a church for the first time. The part that struck me was when the family entered the church building. People were happily greeting one another, hugging, talking, and so forth, but absolutely ignored the guests. The narrator commented that the members saw their church as a friendly place. The problem was that it was friendly only to people they knew, not to newcomers.

I have seen this happen in real churches. The members aren’t bad or uncaring people; they just can’t see themselves the way they really are. Roberts Burns wrote the lines:

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!

It is indeed a gift to see ourselves as others see us. What do non-believers see when they encounter us? Do we show them Christ? I wish all Christians gave this some more thought.

Read Galatians 3:26-27 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne