When our grandson arrived this morning, he had just driven all night from North Carolina. As would be expected he immediately fell asleep. Silently I picked up his glasses noting that like most college boys his glasses were fingerprint smeared. When he awoke and put them on his world was vivid and clear because grandpa did his thing. Jesus tells us to call God, Father, but on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel God looks more like a grandfather. My thoughts paraphrased Jesus’ words, “If we as human grandfathers know how to clean our children’s glasses, how much more will our Heavenly Grandfather enable us to see more clearly.” Matthew 7:11 – sort of.
In Proverbs 4:18 Solomon wrote, “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day.” Isn’t it interesting that as we age our physical eyesight grows dim but our understanding of life and its challenges becomes clearer? I once heard an aged man say, “If I had it to do over again I wouldn’t change a thing.” Honestly, I thought, how could you be so dull? Didn’t you learn anything along the way? You had to have made mistakes. We all do. Would you really do it all the same? The wise learn from their mistakes.
Life is all about learning. Eternal life is all about learning forever. I have many really bright friends. I can hardly wait to talk to them when they are 200 or 300 or more. I know I will be more wowed by their comprehension and cognitive powers because I am wowed now. Until then I pray that our Heavenly Grandpa will continue to daily clean the smudges off the glasses of our minds.
Written by Roger Bothwell on December 20, 2016
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