Are You A Microscope...Or A Telescope?

[Timl1980]

There are times when I open my mouth...and proceed to test the limits on how deeply I can shove one or both feet inside.

 

 

Usually, I can extract them without too much trouble...Jehovah's training...a gentle word from a kind and loving brother or sister...usually SOMETHING will come along and help set me straight.

 

 

But every once in a while...I manage to say or do something that is so foul, so odorous...the stench follows me around for months afterwards. No matter what anyone says or does...I am fully aware that it still exists...and in MY mind...I can sense others around me as they too begin to get a whiff...their noses crinkling upwards in disgust as they slowly edge away from me.

 

 

I was in the midst of one of those stretches recently when all of a sudden...out of the blue...Jehovah sent a messenger in the form of a very kind elder who invited me out to a restaurant for breakfast.

 

 

In my mind...out of the dozens of people sitting there and enjoying their meals...we were the only two people who could smell it...and the odd thing was...this brother was from a completely different congregation...he had no idea of how my judgemental mouth had gotten me...yet again...into trouble.

 

 

Nor did I tell him.

 

 

Surprised?

 

 

I had already dealt with the matter in a scriptural manner...and love and forgiveness had already been extended. It's not that I was afraid to bring it up, but I was also trying to avoid yet another trap laid by the great bird catcher...that of rehashing old wrongs and tearing myself down once something had already been taken care of.

 

 

And yet...as we sat there sipping coffee and idly chatting, I couldn't help but feel that this loving brother could still see the cloud above my head...that he could sense the foul smell I could still feel emanating off me in waves.

 

 

After all, he IS a shepherd. He knows when one of Jehovah's sheep is injured...and please believe me when I say this...even though HE may not have realized fully what he did during our meal...I realized it...and more importantly...Jehovah knew I needed help...and he provided it at just the right time.

 

 

Both of us had our phones out...and knowing I love to research and dig deep in Jehovah's word...he asked me to turn to Psalms 26 and read David's words in verse 2: "Examine me, O Jehovah, and put me to the test; Refine my innermost thoughts and my heart."

 

 

We talked about our love for this verse for a few moments...and I shared with him my own personal study notes on what caused King David to pen these words.

 

 

Then he stopped and asked me if I ever stopped to consider the fact of just how much money people spent to get examined by human therapists and other specialists. (Not that it isn't needed for some, I have talked to a few myself over the years)

 

 

No, he was talking about the mere fact that people paid to get examined by other humans...like getting put under a microscope...everything you say and do...everything you think...all of it getting broken down into teeny tiny fractions and stared at and poked and pulled apart by a person as flawed, (if not more so), than you yourself.

 

 

He remarked that I was correct...Jehovah most definitely can see every single detail about us...not just the surface...no...Jehovah can see all the individual parts about us and instantly know how and why we got to where we are...and also provide tailored advice to get us back on our feet and going once more.

But then this brother added something in context with this scripture that, for me personally...was so profound and heart warming...I felt I simply had to share.

 

 

He asked me what is the difference between a microscope...and a telescope. And although I'm sure there are lots of differences and practical lessons that can be learned...here are two that he pointed out:

 

 

First... a microscope is viewing very small items at a very very close range...whereas telescopes pick out a distant item...(like a planet or a star...and attempts to bring it into focus...making it larger...more real).

 

 

Second, with a telescope...your goal is to have the absolute best gear you can find and couple it with the ideal weather and setting to view the object. Why? Because the object is so far away...you can't physically touch it. With a microscope, however...it's very much a "hands on" situation...you can poke and prod the object you are studying...manipulating it the way you want to get the outcome you desire.

 

 

This dear brother looked at me and said...now imagine if Jehovah were to examine US through a microscope? Instantly a scripture echoed through my mind..."If errors were what you watch, O Jah, Then who, O Jehovah, could stand?"

 

 

So, friends...if Jehovah isn't looking at us through a microscope...how DOES he see us?

 

 

Just like through a perfectly tuned telescope...only one that is coupled with perfection and love. Jehovah sees you as you are now...but, just like a telescope...he is looking PAST the "you" in the present...and he is staring at the you of the future...the YOU that stands on the other side of the thousand year reign.

 

 

He "sees" you now...and knows every single detail about you now...but friends...his eyes are focused on who you WILL be once all traces of sin have been washed away.

 

 

Then this brother moved me even further...by telling me that, as an elder...he has had to beg Jehovah to help him to continue to see past his brothers and sisters faults in the same manner.

 

 

Little did I realize by the end of our meal...but that bad smell had dissipated...and in it's place... was the pleasant scent of two of Jehovah's servants, just trying to do there best to serve Him acceptably.

 

 

I believe both of our footsteps were a little lighter on the way back out to our vehicles...and I sincerely hope that some of that scent has made it's way through the many miles between us all and will help all of us to see ourselves and each other the way Jehovah does...at what we WILL be at the end of the thousand years...not as the sinful version of ourselves that is being poked and prodded by Satan and his wicked system.

 

 

Please, my dear friends...please see each of us through a telescope...and leave the microscopes to Satan and those who will die with him at the end of this system.

Edited December 1, 2023 by Timl1980

[Dages]

6 hours ago, Timl1980 said:

his eyes are focused on who you WILL be once all traces of sin have been washed away

It's not WILL because our individual future isn't written. I could be in Gehenna (good thing my future isn't set, I am free).

 

But Jehovah surely is looking forward to seeing us improving. So let's not disappoint him

Let's make him even more proud and happy 

 

Edited December 1, 2023 by Dages

[Timl1980]

35 minutes ago, Dages said:

It's not WILL because our individual future isn't written. I could be in Gehenna (good thing my future isn't set, I am free).

Very true, yet I mainly meant that in the broad sense of the word. ☺️ His focus is seeing who we "could" be...provided we stay faithful. He sees beyond our current state and sees our potential, that would have been a more accurate way to say that.