Camille and I got back home from a brief trip to New Orleans.  It is always good to get away for a bit but great to be back home!  We had a great time enjoying some very delicious food, strolling along the Mississippi River, as well as going to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas.  I was curious to seeing how Covid-19 had impacted the Crescent City and as you might expect, it very much has and continues to have.

New Orleans is only starting to reopen restaurants and shopping areas.  We noticed much smaller crowds of people and lots of businesses that have not yet reopened.  We did find many merchants eager to welcome us and, of course, equally eager to sell us something!

I decided to conduct a little experiment while we were away.  I decided to intentionally speak to the person who was waiting on us, particularly in the stores.  Once we exchanged to normal pleasantries, I asked them this question, “now that your store has reopened, how do you see things going forward as life eventually gets back to normal?”  It probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that everyone I asked that question had an opinion.  What might surprise you is some of the answers I got to it.

One gentlemen, who was happy to sell me some pecan pralines, was extremely optimistic.  He said it seemed like things were getting better almost day by day.  He left me with the impression that while this certainly had been a very trying time, life looked up and he was preparing for better days sooner rather than later.

Another gentlemen, who was ringing up a purchase of a new T shirt, answered in pretty much the exact opposite way.  He seemed pretty depressed actually and his outlook on the future was equally grim.  He couldn’t really see any light at the end of the tunnel.  But he did wish that I would “have a nice day” as we left!

Other responses pretty much ended up in the middle of those two extremes.  Some people we met seemed very upbeat while others seemed defeated.  What I found really striking is that merchants who were essentially doing the same thing, side by side on the same street could experience pretty much the same situation and SEE it in radically different ways.

By now you have probably deduced that this blog post is about the benefits of having a positive attitude over a negative one.  Sorry, but that isn’t the point I am hoping to make!

While it is true that attitude can be a huge factor in HOW we see things and subsequently HOW we react to the them, my focus today isn’t related to HOW we see but rather WHAT we see.  To be clear, I am speaking about how Christ-followers are capable of seeing the Kingdom of God come to life within the present messy world we live.  I am drawing on my experience from the recent trip to illustrate how people can see essentially the same thing and conclude fundamentally different things.

Consider with me WHAT you see when looking around the world we currently live.  Where do you see brokenness, oppression, absence of love or peace, destruction and so many other qualities that seem to flourish in God’s intended good world.  Do you see opportunity and challenge to help be the change required to see that current reality change to be what God intended?  Do you just accept it as “just the way life is” and do nothing?

Over a hundred years ago, Maltbie Davenport Babcock, a Methodist minister from Lockport, NY penned these words that are verse 3 of a favorite hymn of mine, “This is My Father’s World”:

This is my Father’s world:
O let me ne’er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.

God’s Spirit is leading us to face the wrong that certainly seems wrong and insurmountable and bring it right with the transformative Light of King Jesus.  What a privilege it is for us to be called to partner with Him in this transformative work!  But remember, it starts by being able to accurately SEE the world as God intends for it to be, not as it currently is!