Skip to main content

No Revelation, No Vision

             Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. (Proverbs 29:18)

I should probably begin with an apology. This is one of my favorite verses. I’ve written about it twice this year already, but changes are taking place in our lives, and I feel the need to remove the magic from this verse, for my own good if no one else’s.

I’ve noted before that I tend to negate myself. I argue that I am not a _____ because of some ludicrous claim that I don’t measure up. I might fail and be an embarrassment to this person or that group, so better not to claim association. Put simply, I can’t see myself as many of the things that I am. I have no revelation or (to use the King James vocabulary) vision.

The idea is not limited to people who have no prophet telling them what God says. Everyone has some idea or vision of what the universe is like. They have a worldview. It may not be well-defined or clearly communicated, even to themselves. In other words, they have no revelation or vision. And without it, they are not only blind but disoriented. There’s nothing mystical or supernatural about it. It’s just reality. If we have no knowledge of the universe or ourselves, or believe lies about either, we’re going to run into difficulties. This takes us back to a simple formula. Our behavior is a direct result of our beliefs, and if our beliefs are contradictory or confused our behavior will be so as well.

One of the grievous mistakes we make in our view of the universe and ourselves is that we are at the center – that we are God. Another is that we tend to further define ourselves as something other than “merely” people. If we cannot be God, we must at least be special, so we define ourselves by our skin color, ethnicity, occupation, economic class, or other “skin deep” aspect ourselves as if those matter. If we are going to distinguish ourselves from others, the greater reality is that our beliefs distinguish us. In other words, our vision is what truly either divides or unites us. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more