In recent times in the latter days of the second half of my life, God has opened·my eyes to a new way of seeing. 

I regard it as a further step toward spiritual maturity. Not that I am perfect or will ever be perfect. It is simply my conviction that it is God’s desire to remake all of us in his image, in the likeness and fullness of Christ Jesus. This transformation is at God’s initiative and with our permission.

For many years now, I have seen most things as pretty complex and conflicted, many sides, good or bad, black or white, etc. From these I had to choose, take a stand, decide one way or the other, acceptable or not. It was all a part of my identity and what I thought being a Christian required. Early on I accepted paradox as a way of

dealing with the conflicts. Only God was one.

The new way of “seeing” involves-the wholeness, interrelatedness and inclusiveness of all things physical and spiritual. It is the way God sees things or at least relates to them. Even the worst of us or the worst of things is a positive possibility. For God sees not the way things are, but rather for what they may become or what good may result from them. Everything in life is included-good and bad, beautiful and tragic, saint and sinner. God uses all of them and us to establish his kingdom as a new heaven and a new earth.

Everything and everyone is included. That is the wholeness. When one suffers, we all suffer together. When one rejoices we all rejoice together. That is the interrelatedness. We and all things are included in God’s plan because God can and does use everything and everybody to fulfill his purposes. Every sin can be forgiven if something good can be learned from it. God can bring something good out of every tragedy, even natural disasters. No experience is wasted. 

It is within God’s power to transform the ugly into something good and beautiful. It is not that God is responsible for the negative, it is simply a matter that God sees all things not from the perspective of what they are, but rather for how they were created and what they may become. There are no exceptions. Everything will become as God created it to be.

If this is the way and what God sees, and I believe it is, then what does this say about my vision, new and improved. If God is for everyone and everything and for the good that can be realized in them, who am I to exclude anyone or any thing? 

The choice is not and has never been mine to make. If God loves everything created, how can I love anything less. Now we see life only dimly, not as it will become.

Of course, there are now many things in our world for which we may weep. Even God, I suspect, sheds a tear or two over what he sees. But the end is not here yet. We can see better as God sees; not only with our minds but with our hearts. Seeing with the heart is the way God sees. 

Rev. Raymond Ticknor is a retired Christian Church (Disciple of Christ) pastor living in Monett. He may be reached at [email protected].