By Brad Watson
The Sights of a Mountain Lake
On our family's recent vacation, we went to a clear mountain lake in the MT Hood National Forest, properly called, Frog Lake. It's a lake I had been to multiple times when I lived there to go snow showing in the winter months.
Now, in the summer years later, as soon as we arrived the kids shouted about the hundreds of tadpoles at the shore. It was pretty amazing. Then, I saw the clear and still water and the towering trees. I thought, "Wow. This is a good place to be." Then, Mirela came yelling, "There are bald eagles here!: We put on the binoculars and saw two beautiful and majestic birds of prey. I thought, "This is a remarkable place."
Then, my friend and I got on paddle boards and went to the center of the lake. There, I could see Eagles above, Fish in the depths, tall trees, and reflecting back on us was a snowcapped mountain. From that vantage point, I realized the full majesty and beauty of the moment I was living in.
Seeing More of Jesus
Often, when we first encounter Jesus, or, probably more clearly, when Jesus first interrupts our lives, what we see is astonishing to us. Whether it's his, love, grace, power, mercy, or forgiveness, we're in awe. But there’s more to Him. In fact, as we walk through life, we're exposed to new areas where the cross of Jesus meets the pain of the world and where the resurrection of Jesus brings greater hope. Often though, we so narrowly focus our amazement at the hope of Jesus, we only see a small portion of the gospel. A hope only seen narrowly—falls apart in the complexity of life. A greater hope is needed. A fuller picture of who Jesus is, what he’s done, and who we are.
What Is Jesus Showing Us?
Life's circumstances, even the most daunting ones, are regularly used by God push us to new sight lines where we can observe the depths, heights, and width of God’s love. I wonder how true that may be for us in this moment. How God might be using the realities of this world to show us new contours of his grace?