Open Eyes…Seeking Heart
July 28th, 2008 | by Ed |I got back yesterday from spending a week at Seaside Park.
It was just the kind if vacation I needed–a lazy, leisurely, lounge around kind of vacation. Lazy mornings, long talks with friends, afternoon naps, lots of italian food, and chocolate milkshakes from the Sundae Times. And of course several good books to read.
This week, I’ve been meditating on a quote from Frederick Buechner:
“There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize him or not…because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”
God often hides himself and travels incognito. But to those who have eyes to see and a heart to seek Him, He reveals himself. I think of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus joins them and walks with them but “their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him” (Luke 24:16). Then, as they approached the village, Jesus “acted as though He would go farther” (24:28).
Jesus always leaves room for us to recognize Him or not. He acts as though He will go farther, to see if we value Him enough to seek Him. The disciples could have let Him go on his way, and they would have never recognized Him. But they invited Him to stay and during the commonplace event of breaking bread, their eyes were opened to recognize Him (24:31, 35).
I wonder how many times God was present, hidden, leaving me room to recognize Him or not–and I failed to recognize Him. Maybe I was too busy to notice Him, or I failed to recognize Him in the commonplace moments of life. Or, He acted as if He was going on farther…and I let Him go!
God says to us, “You shall find Me when you seek for me with all your heart.” He’s often with us in the most commonplace of moments if we have the discerment to recognize Him. But only those who are looking for Him will find Him.
I’m going to make it my daily prayer that despite the distractions of life, I would recognize Him when He intersects my life, knowing that ALL moments are key moments because ANY moment may be the moment God shows up.