I have always admired beautiful landscapes and well manicured neighborhoods. They indicate well-to-do status, aligned communities, proud home owners, and possibly neighborhood watch associations. Such neighborhoods influence real estate markets and promote economic well being. Within the homes, viewers and passersby assume and hope to find unity, peace, and caring families that solidify the confidence and strength that are portrayed outside their house walls. It makes one asks "who lives in these neighborhoods?" In general, people bring their own perspectives to life by assuming that such clean and well kept neighborhood are financially able.
While people in general make the correct assumptions about the statuses of such neighborhoods, we also make similar conclusions about people. We assess people based on the way they present themselves - style of dress, stance, manners, choice of words, and behaviors. As we become more experienced and learned, we "put on" lenses to compliment and quantify our conclusions on things we observe and see so to validate our presentations of proposed clarity to others. I hope that the corrective lenses we wear is approved by the Holy Spirit, who helps bring our acuity to see beyond the apparent. Interestingly, God sees us without these corrective lenses. He knows and sees everything about us. He knows our past, present, and future. Our addresses may be located in those beautifully landscaped neighborhoods and we may impress others with the way we live, but do we live our lives that testify Godly characters? Do we see others as God sees them - with compassion, understanding, and love? May we focus our lenses to gain insights and show others how God sees them.
