To Know, See, and Act

The world says, "what you see must be reality." It assumes that we cannot know until we see it.

What if what you see is a reflection of what you want to see as oppose to what it really is? What if one cannot see what is plain in sight because they simply refuse to see it? What about those that cannot see because they fail to recognize or see any meaning in it? In another words, they let life happen to them, so they miss the meaning in it as they breeze through life.

In John 6:26, "Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled."

In the scriptures, Christ said they did not see the miracles... At the same time, it is clear that people were looking for Christ shortly after having been fed by him and witnessing the miracle of feeding the five thousand. So, what did Christ really mean?

The people had seen the effects of the miracle--they were fed. However, they lacked the knowledge that he was the Christ wherefore they completely missed the miracle in the process. Had they realized he was the Christ and what they had witnessed, they would have wanted to learn from him. They would have recognized Christ. They would not have followed him for the sake of curiosity or because he fed the 5,000. They would not have needed to see that he could feed the 5,000 to know that he was Christ.

Let's take a more simple example that we can relate to. If we were to go to a circus, a child looks at a magic show and believes that it really happened. If a hat disappeared, it really disappeared according to a child. An adult looks at the same show and knows that it was just an illusion because an adult has the knowledge that it is not possible that a matter can simply disappear. An adult does not have to see how the illusion was created to know that it was just a trick. Depending on our knowledge, what and how we see the event changes.

Same is true of faith and trust. If we are always saying, " I have to see to believe," we have set ourselves up to never believe because even if we were given the signs, we will not see it because we will reject it saying, "that is a lie," or "it can't be because it's not possible." In which case, we will never know because we have conditioned to reject it no matter what happens.

Moving on to my favorite topic of relationships with others, how many times do we hear people say, "You have to earn my trust?" I've heard it countless times and I'm also guilty as charged. Once again, it's the same concept that we cannot believe until proven with results. In this mentality, it is then impossible to prove to someone that he or she should be trusted because if he or she messes up once, one becomes untrustworthy. If he or she does something right, it was expected therefore one still has not earned the trust in which case establishment of trust is not a possibility.

Now, for those of us who believe in God, do you see the results/effects of your prayer, or do you see the miracle/power of the prayer? Do you see the miracle as it is happening? Can you feel and know the influence of our Heavenly Father in your daily lives or do you notice him and credit him only when the heavy burden is lifted?