THE GAZING MASK

Visionary eyes always look beyond the horizon at images and times yet to be. But so often the person who is doing the seeing isn’t necessarily a volunteer in the process. With the Lord’s anointing it is a calling. The person will have the sight without it being because it was a reward or deserved.

For those not so inclined they will occasionally rely upon the overdramatic approach to convey this sight. It is contrived with the focus being on the person rather than the vision.

It isn’t my desire to question the integrity of someone’s claim to have visions. Any more than their claiming to have any spiritual experience.

I’m simply making an observation in terms of how easy it is to “act” the part of some vision without it being real. A person can learn to say the right things or do the rights or even act in a way that makes you believe God spoke to them in some intimate and special way.

I’ve never personally be fond of saying something like “the Lord told me.” Not because I discount the fact that God can speak to anyone, I just feel it is not as common an experience as some might like to claim.

I have had several experiences in my spiritual life that I felt God’s spirit was inspiring me in some special way. This included the occasional moment that I put in the category of a vision. However, I can honestly say that the Lord has never spoken to me in an audible way. If he did, I sure didn’t recognize it.

I think the one thing we can appreciate is that the Lord’s involvement with each follower is intended to be intimate and personal. But it also involves faith and to that end there are times he will let us wander to some degree in the shadows of uncertainty for the sake of testing our faith.

Still, when he does touch our live in a special way, it is in keeping with his will and his word. For me that means there are definitely circumstances when he would have a reason to reveal himself in a far more intimate way than with others. I’m thinking of such as with the apostle and the prophets.

Given the nature of their calling and the significance it play in the stream of history we can certainly understand why some would have those types of encounters. Someone such as Moses would have had the rare experience of seeing the Lord in a special way.

But does God do that for everyone. Not from what I have noticed. Only it just doesn’t keep some from the need to don that “gazing” mask. They can’t avoid the need to put themselves in the center of the spiritual world.

For me the guideline I observe is whether the message given or the means used truly points towards Christ or towards the person. In that question, if asked for the sake of understanding, I feel God will reveal the truth.