Turning to the disciples, He
said privately, “Blessed are the
eyes which see the things you see.” —Luke 10:23
Last Tuesday was Somerset County Day at the Pittsburgh Zoo. The
Zoo closed the park an hour early to the public and, from 5-9 PM, welcomed
residents from Somerset County. The Somerset County Visitor’s Bureau gave out
free wristbands to everyone who asked, so Nana and Pappy (my wife and me) were
urged to take the grand-children. On the drive down, Gavin and Addi (ages nine
and almost four) were talking up a storm in the back seat reciting all the
animals they planned to see: elephants, tigers, and bears. “Tigers are the
meanest,” Addi would frequently chime in. And sharks and kangaroos and giraffes
and on it went. In the entire listing, gold fish were never mentioned.
At the African savannah section, we saw a black rhino and
elephants. At the next exhibit, we saw a giraffe’s head coming up over the hill
towards us. “Oh, look,” everyone exclaimed, “here come the giraffes to feed.” Their
food consisted of hay placed in baskets on the top of high poles. While the
giraffe made its way to the pole off to our left and
then to the one right in front of us, the children became distracted with the koi,
goldfish in the moat separating the giraffe exhibit from us.
The
word koi comes from Japanese, simply meaning "carp". It
includes both the dull grey fish and the brightly colored varieties you might see
in restaurant aquariums or landscape ponds. I overheard one parent threaten
their children, “If you are gonna’ watch gold fish, we’re going home. We can do
that at WalMart.” Darlene and I watched the magnificent giraffe eat its hay and
play with tree branches close up and personal while the children knelt in the
dirt and watched common bottom feeding carp.
I am afraid, spiritually and naturally, we are no different than
the children. The magnificence of this world reveals itself daily, but we are
too busy with our ordinary lives to notice. We’ve all heard the saying, “You’ve
got to stop and smell the roses.” A stunning sunset, a beautiful flower, or a
touching act of love and kindness often goes unnoticed by eyes focused on the
daily grind.
Sadly, we fair no better in the spiritual realm. When Jesus
paraded into Jerusalem in the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday, many crowded to
see Him and Lazarus whom Jesus had raised from the dead. The legalistic and
religious minded Pharisees could only see the details of the Torah and planned
to kill both Jesus and Lazarus (John 12:9-10).
Mary and Martha entertained Jesus at their home. Martha had
so fixed her mind and eyes on the chores and details of entertaining, she
completely missed her honored guest. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus in awe and
devotion. We need and appreciate the Martha’s of this world, but let’s not miss
the extraordinary moments of life because our focus is obscured by the daily and
ordinary (Luke
10:41-42).
When the seventy returned from their ministry tour, Jesus
told them, “Blessed are the eyes which see the
things you see” (Luke 10:23). What have you seen the Lord do recently? If you
focus on the ugly, the bad, and the ordinary, you will miss many miraculous
moments in your life. I invite you to pause, listen, and see the glories of the
Lord and His creation around you.
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