Today, I just couldn’t seem to stop looking at this picture. Why? Not quite sure. Perhaps, it was the feeling of coldness it evokes, which reminded me of the cold outside ( and YES, it does get cold in Florida ), or maybe the odd manipulation that comes from applying a fish-eye lens when taking a picture. Humm, I think it is that lens effect, for it changes the normal appearance of the picture in a way that seems to convey a feeling that all the trees are reaching for the moon. In other words, the moon has become the goal of every tree. And the goal ( the moon ) seems a twisted, manipulated one; not quite worthy of all the effort to reach it.
As I think about this, I wonder… how many lives out there are twisted into a distorted way of living? People living their lives with goals that are nothing less than sand flowing through their fingers. Lives that end in disappointment and ultimate failure because they have sought the wrong things. And, what are the wrong things? The apostle John says...
1 John 2 ( World English Bible )
15 Don’t love the world, neither the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.
17 The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.
John’s answer; a focus on the things of this world is wrong. You know, things like money, power, pride and the inappropriate desire for things not worth having.
In comparison to this are the things of God. When a person seeks God, even their worst efforts produce goodness. God’s ways are the ONLY right ways and are ultimately higher than the moon or any star in the known or even unknown universe.
Today, ask yourself: What are my goals in life? If you answer seeking God, then you are on the right path; if not, well, its time to use a different lens to see clearly!