What glasses are you wearing today? Are your glasses tinted? Do the things you see have a brownish, blueish, or a different hue? Can you see everything you want to see?
A few years ago, Hyrum Smith taught a lecture about seeing with colored glasses. He said that we each put a certain hue or tint on the glasses we use. Often that hue is just a coloration of what we see. If that tint is a prejudice against, then everything we see will have the coloring effect.
If we decide that everyone who is not from the US should go home, that will influence almost everyone we see serving at any fast food location. It will change the way we talk with someone who is different. If we have a coloring on our glasses that everyone wearing shorts should cover up their legs, then as we meet a new person with shorts on, we immediately decide that we cannot accept that person, no matter the personality. Our glasses will dictate what we think about, how we receive, and how we think about anyone else.
Why I bring this up is this. If we have Eternal Coloring on our glasses, then everyone we meet, everything that happens to us, every events we hear about, we will color it with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we hear of someone starting a fire that burns down three homes, we will not wish he would be put in jail, or even shot. We will wonder if it was an accident, what was his motivation, was he in sound mind, etc. Or was he just trying to find a place to roast a marshmallow. No matter who we see, what they are dressed like, what comes out of their mouth, we will KNOW that they are brothers and sisters of ours.
I have been taught that lesson the last few weeks. There is an eternal, gospel-tinted explanation for everything we experience, everything we see, everything we hear about. When I was driving to work the other day, I almost hit a man who ran a red light. At first, I was angry, then I decided that he ran that light because he was hurrying home because his wife was in labor, waiting to have their sixteenth child.
When my team wins the game, I could feel saddened knowing that the loser were in depression and especially the player who made a mistake that resulted in the team losing, consider how awful he felt. Feel compassion.
As we continue to get ready to go on our mission, I need to make sure that I have many pairs of glasses that are tinted with Gospel shading. It will make a large difference in how I greet, how I treat, and how I see all others. It is something I need to start now so I can be ready to love everyone I meet, no matter the circumstances or events leading up to our meeting, even someone who hurts or injures me. Just a thought.
Bonnie went to the eye doctor and it was decided to give her the medical attention her one eye needs when we get home. It should not get worse, and she should be OK without surgery. Thanks for the prayers.
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