What is this picture? If I had the opportunity to ask some of you what it is, I’d probably hear a variety of answers. Some would say a bird (see the beak and the featherish things?). Others would say a grassy knoll (those aren’t feathers, they’re blades of grass!). Still others would say something entirely different.
Now that we’re thoroughly confused, I’m going to give you a hint, but it will require you to scroll down a bit. I’ll meet you a few screens below!
Keep scrolling.
Almost there…
Just a little farther…
Hey there! I’m glad you decided to join me down here. Are you ready for your hint? Here goes:
Now do you know what the first picture is? Of course you do. It’s a cat looking at the sky! Some of you might have picked up on that right away, and if you did, feel free to gloat over all the rest of us. For the rest of you, endure the gloating, think about what just happened, and consider the following:
- We can’t know for sure what Picture 1 is until we see Picture 2.
- Even though we called Picture 1 a bird or knoll or something else, Picture 1 was a cat, is a cat, and always will be a cat.
- Go back and look at Picture 1. You will not see a bird or a knoll. You will see a cat, and even if you try to see it as a bird or knoll, you just won’t be able to shake the cat.
This is a wonderful illustration on the nature of Reality. Think of Picture 2 as the Way Things Are, and Picture 1 as the Way We See Things. We see the world in a variety of different ways. To revisit the picture analogy, some see it as a bird, others see it as a grassy knoll, and still others as something entirely different. This manifests itself in dozens of worldviews ranging from atheism to Islam to Buddhism to postmodernism to new spirituality to Christianity. Knowing what each picture represents, let’s revisit the bullet points above
We can’t know for sure what Picture 1 is until we see Picture 2
Some called Picture 1 a bird. Others called it a grassy knoll. Still others called it something else. And maybe, some rightly called it a cat. Who is right? If all we have is Picture 1, we can’t know for sure. We must see Picture 2 before ever making a correct claim about Picture 1.
In the same way, the Way We See Things differs from person to person. One person’s an atheist. The next is a Muslim. And the next is a Christian. Who is right? If all we have is multiple Ways of Seeing Things, we can’t know for sure. We must see the Way Things Are before ever making a correct claim about the Way We See Things. Someone who knows the Way Things Are must reveal to us the Way Things Are, or we will be left to open speculation forever.
That Someone is God. Yahweh. The God of the Old and New Testaments who has revealed the Way Things Are through His Words written in the Bible and ultimately through His Son, Jesus Christ:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power
Hebrews 1:1-3
Even though we called Picture 1 a bird or knoll or something else, Picture 1 was a cat, is a cat, and always will be a cat
Everyone in the world could say Picture 1 is not a cat. But that doesn’t mean it is not a cat. We don’t define what Picture 1 is. Picture 1’s creator defines what it is.
In the same way, our interpretations of reality don’t define reality. I may see a bird in Picture 1, but that does not make it a bird. I can say my worldview is the Way Things Are, but that does not mean my worldview is the Way Things Are! There is only one Way Things Are, regardless of the Way We See Things.
Jesus said:
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6
and:
I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die
John 11:25-26
and:
Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4:14
These statements are true whether you believe them or not.
Go back and look at Picture 1. You will not see a bird or a knoll. You will see a cat, and even if you try to see it as a bird or knoll, you just won’t be able to shake the cat
Once you’ve seen the cat in Picture 2, Picture 1 is always a cat. When we see the true Way Things Are, the Way We See Things changes. We look around the world and say, “Of Course! It’s so obvious! It can’t be anything other than a cat!” Everything we see falls into place, and it all reflects the Way Things Are, and other Ways We See Things don’t make sense anymore. As C.S. Lewis says, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
May God grant you the eyes to see the true Way Things Are.
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