{"id":29184,"date":"2022-11-01T09:01:46","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T15:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/?p=29184"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:33:58","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T17:33:58","slug":"fractals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/fractals\/","title":{"rendered":"Fractals"},"content":{"rendered":"

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:7, 8).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When I was a young teenager, I discovered a new art form in a book titled Magic Eye<\/em>. Each page showed a colorful pattern, like a fractal. The surface images made little sense, but a 3D picture was hidden beneath. It took a while to find the true images, but I learned that if I focused beyond<\/em> the surface, I could see the image so carefully concealed.<\/p>\n

The book fascinated me. I studied every page until I could easily see the image hidden \u2014 in plain sight, as it were.<\/p>\n

Library trip<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Recently, I took my three kids to the library to replenish their supply of books. While they browsed the shelves in the kids\u2019 section, I noticed an edition of Magic Eye.<\/em><\/p>\n

I had not seen one in years, so I pulled it from the shelf and sat down next to my children. Excitement stirred in me as I turned the first page. I also felt a little foolish sitting at a small plastic table in the children\u2019s area, looking for hidden images in a picture book.<\/p>\n

Looking beyond<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I turned to the first page and tried to adjust my eyes. The secret of finding the hidden image is to look beyond the pattern, which does not come naturally. I had to defocus to a point where my eyes began to feel uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

The first time I tried, the picture started to transform. An image began to materialize beneath the obvious one, but I had to look away before I could see the complete image. It felt so unnatural that I needed to set my gaze on something concrete and readily visible.<\/p>\n

Letting go<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I turned back to the page, trying again not to look at<\/em> it but through<\/em> it. My gaze moved beyond the surface picture and I saw it: the hidden three-dimensional image. It was so clear. So real.<\/p>\n

I turned to the next page. This should be easy now<\/em>, I thought. But again, I had to relax my gaze and let the picture appear. Each new page took effort, but the effort was not in making it happen. It was in letting go.<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Eventually looking beyond did grow more natural. Before I realized it, I had reached the end of the book. I closed it and looked around. It felt as though I was looking at the world through new eyes.<\/p>\n

The world in front of me, around me, and so often within me seemed to serve as a reflection of the pages I had just perused. Sitting in that low, red seat, surrounded by kids leafing through children\u2019s books, had made me feel like a child once more. Maybe that is what I needed to transform my vision.<\/p>\n

Veiled glory<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The kids and I filed out into the winter afternoon. As I ushered them across the library parking lot and into our minivan, everything around me seemed so concrete. So tangible. But just beyond, a sort of glory whispered.<\/p>\n

In the third chapter of 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes of a veil that is cast over one\u2019s vision, causing minds that are blinded. He adds, \u201cNevertheless\u00a0when one turns to the Lord,\u00a0the veil is taken away\u201d (v. 16).<\/p>\n

Glimpses<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When our vision is unveiled, Paul adds, we behold \u201cas in a mirror, the glory of the Lord.\u201d As a result, we \u201care being transformed into the same image from glory to glory\u201d (v. 18). This glory comes in glimpses, and even then, only sometimes \u2014 in a dream or a memory. In an idea or thought or experience. Sometimes the glimpse comes through an unexpected meeting. Sometimes in a cloudy sky or a rainfall or a sepia-toned photograph.<\/p>\n

A glimpse of glory shimmers at the edge of our vision, and we try to focus, to make sense of the thing itself. But perhaps the glory is not in the thing itself. Perhaps if we relax, look not at<\/em> it but through<\/em> it \u2014 beyond it \u2014 we will see more than meets the eye.<\/p>\n

It may be that an image will take shape \u2014 a picture, a face \u2014 that we have been waiting for so long to see, one by which we truly come to recognize ourselves and all things: Jesus, the Lord of glory, whose face shines brighter than a thousand suns if we choose to look upon Him and behold His face.<\/p>\n

Gazing on Christ<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some scholars believe the phrase Paul used in his letter to the Corinthians, when he wrote of the Lord of glory being crucified, was borrowed from Psalm 24:<\/p>\n

Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The\u00a0Lord\u00a0of hosts, He\u00a0is\u00a0the King of glory (vv. 9, 10).<\/p>\n

We can lift our gaze upon Him, as the psalmist calls us to do, or we can turn away. Rub our eyes, refocus on the things of this world, and walk on, unseeing. When we are willing to look only upon what we readily see and feel and can easily prove, we never know what we might be missing. We never know what could be revealed if we choose to look through unveiled eyes and behold the Lord of glory.<\/p>\n

Proper focus<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Interestingly, the word glory<\/em> does not mean only honor and majesty. It is rooted in the word weight<\/em>. The glory of a thing is the weight or heaviness of a thing. When we are focused solely on the tangible world around us \u2014 our troubles and concerns \u2014 they can feel weightier than they need to be and heavier than we can bear.<\/p>\n

But when we focus on the Lord of glory and offer Him the praise and worship that is His due, He opens our eyes and allows us to truly see. We behold His glory, and the troubles around us grow dim and dwindle to their proper size \u2014 which might be too big for us but never too big for Him.<\/p>\n

Glorious future<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One day, the Bible promises us, we shall behold the full glory of the Lord. We also will be transformed; the glory of God will be revealed to us and within us: \u201cFor I consider that\u00a0the sufferings of this present time are not worthy\u00a0to be compared\u00a0with the glory which shall be revealed in us\u201d (Romans 8:18).<\/p>\n

And the world we see around us, so often dimmed by pain and suffering, \u201cthe creation itself,\u201d the same passage promises, \u201cwill be delivered from the bondage of\u00a0corruption into the glorious\u00a0liberty of the children of God\u201d (v. 21).<\/p>\n

As we wait, let\u2019s hold to hope, keeping our gaze fixed on the Lord of glory and His eternal kingdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:7, 8). When I was a young teenager, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1597,"featured_media":29185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2368,44],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFractals - Bible Advocate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/baonline.cog7engage.net\/fractals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fractals - Bible Advocate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2:7, 8). 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