New Lenses

In my previous post, I promised to use An Anchor to describe God against the illustration of the fire-spitting-gavel-striking God we often hear about. 

Anchor

"An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to connect a ship to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current"

synonyms: cornerstone, chief support, main source of stability/security and foundation.

Wondering how an inanimate object can be used to portray God through a lens of love and not fear?

Why don't you come with me, let's delve in? 

"Whenever a ship has to stay afloat in a stationary position on water when the engines are turned off, the anchor is cast into the sea so that the vessel does not drift unnecessarily from its position due to water currents".

That is a simple summary of what an anchor does for a ship. 

Now let's bring it closer to home - of course I am going to use a seemingly mundane task to describe something abstract - as always:

At some points in our lives, we get to a phase where everything seems to be on pause - being in a stationary position - and this can cause a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. Then there are periods when it seems like a roller-coaster ride - it just keeps going up and down - and this can cause confusion and possibly drifting in the wrong direction.

Kind of sounds like a ship being in a stationary position yeah? At risk of drifting unnecessarily from its position due to water currents (situations in life we have little or no control over). 

This is where God (Anchor) steps in!!! (if we let Him) - I know that just sounded like introducing Superman into the plot...lol, well you can also call Him Superman because He saves the day.

Where was I?

Yes, this is where God steps in; as an anchor cast into the sea, linked by a chain and deeply rooted in the sea bed to keep the ship from going adrift. 

This simply means we (you and I) represents the ship and God is the anchor, meaning when we sway, when life seems to pause, when a storm gathers; we can choose to stay calm knowing beneath all the drama and squall, we have an anchor deep within the sea (away from plain sight and understanding) keeping us steady.

Does that sound like a God who would want to harm you and send you to eternal damnation at the slightest provocation? 

Does that sound like a boogeyman that should be used to frighten us into good behaviour?

My hope as I conclude this article is that:

1) We understand the difference between fear and reverence: fear takes away our confidence in trusting God and going to Him boldly while reverence is being in awe of his great love, power and mercy; coming to Him acknowledging His great power and also being reassured that this power is with us - lovingly keeping and anchoring us - not ready to destroy at the slightest provocation.

2) We come to see God looking through different lenses and see Him in every aspect of our lives - not compartmentalized or used when convenient (genie in the bottle approach - rub only when you need a wish granted) - but intricately woven into our lives to add colour, to add peace and to add joy.

That is all I hope for and there is no better time to share this hope than on the last day of 2016!!!!

It has sure been an epic year for me and I hope it has been same for you and as we enter into 2017, in the next few hours, we have another chance to drop those fear-filled-shame-driven lenses and pick up those love-filled-redemption-driven lenses; things sure does look way better and brighter with the new lenses. 

Smile until we gist again and do feel free to share your  thoughts, I love learning from you.