Being a Lens

I talked to the weekend team about this post as part of our devotion. It seemed fitting as we were getting ready to serve together and by way of the Holy Spirit, lead others into the presence of God. But this isn't just a blog for those who are considered 'worship leaders' though the metaphor speaks specifically to that role. This blog is for every Christ follower so I hope you'll soak it in and consider how it applies to your life.

I read something in a weekly email I receive that I thought was a pretty awesome metaphor. Author and Worship Leader (among many other titles), Andy Crouch, wrote that great worship leaders are like a lens and "lenses aren't meant to be look at; they're meant to be looked through."

That's it...that's the metaphor that grabbed me. Maybe it's because I've tried to look through a foggy lens and found it very frustrating. Every time I wiped the lens clean, it fogged back up or got streaks and just looked ugly.

I tried to wear glasses to look cool (or maybe smarter) in high school but there was a problem - I have great eye sight so wearing glasses actually made it nearly impossible for me to see. Lenses that were intended to correct sight, resulted in the opposite.

I've had broken lenses - sunglasses that I just didn't want to throw away because I loved the style or the way they fit my face, I just couldn't get rid of them. I would find myself trying to balance them just right so they wouldn't fall apart...or tape the lens into place and try to see out of just one eye (driving was dangerous ;)

So, what have I learned? Not all lenses are created equal. But friends when you do find the right lens - the lens that allows you to see with clarity - the world comes alive quite literally before your eyes. The colors are brighter, the world seems warmer and safer and everything is just...clear.

At some point in your journey with God, he became clear to you. Did you have people who served as lenses along the way? Right now you probably have people who model Christ to you - who live in a way that you are seeing Christ 'through' them. I am grateful for those people in my life. They remind me to polish my own lens because, Lord willing, I'll have an opportunity to be a God-lens for someone else.

Isn't it amazing how God uses scratched and broken lives/lenses to make Himself ever so clear?