Well, I’ve joined the super hi-tech world of smart phones. I have more computing power in my phone today than we had on the computer at my first job as a programmer for the entire campus of Santa Fe Community College some 30 years ago. This phone has some great applications–there are literally thousands of programs available. But there’s one that is just too amazing. It’s called a reality browser.
What is a reality browser, you ask? Well, you turn the phone’s camera on and point the phone in any direction and it shows you things you can’t see with the naked eye. If you want to know where a grocery store is, you simply say “grocery store” and point the phone in any direction and if there’s a grocery store within six miles, it provides you with the name, phone number, driving directions, and all kinds of information about the stores it “sees.” It “enhances” reality. It lets you see what’s there that you can’t see.
As I was driving to work the day after I got this application and I was looking at the people in the cars in rush hour traffic, I wondered what would happen if I pointed my reality browser at some of those people. Would it show me things I couldn’t see by simply looking at them with my unaided eyes? And, if it could, I wondered what I would see.
Well, obviously it couldn’t do that. But what if it could? What would I see? Have you ever thought about that? And, I guess the question really should be, would you want to be able to do that?
What if people could see past your exterior facade and look into your heart? Not just some of the time, but all of the time? Would people be surprised by what they saw?
In 1 Samuel 16:7, when speaking about one of David’s brothers, the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
I’m thankful people can’t see into my heart. I know there are times when they might be disappointed. No. I’m sure they would be more than disappointed. And, while I can’t speak for all people, I suspect that everyone would prefer to guard their heart from prying eyes.
But isn’t it sad. We shower, brush our hair, and put on perfume or cologne. We take the time to put on the right clothes and make up. We even put on our best behavior for others to see. And for the One we claim to love above all others, we are always exposed for who we really are.
I’m thankful God loves me like He does. How much does He love me? Read Romans 5:8 and Ephesians 2:1-9. If I could love like that, I might want a reality browser to see other people. But until then, I really don’t think I could handle it. In reality, I don’t think anyone could.
Thom Fishow
June 20, 2010