Filters of Life: Seeing Clearly Through God’s Lens
We live in a world full of filters—tools and perspectives that distort our reality, often shaping what we see and how we perceive situations. These filters can create false expectations, like imagining an idyllic Christmas scene only to experience the chaotic joy of baking cookies with sprinkles scattered everywhere. This dissonance between expectation and reality is not new; even the people of biblical times wrestled with filters that obscured their vision of God’s plans.
The Filters We Use
Filters come in many forms—social media profiles projecting perfect lives, makeup masking true appearances, or even workplace facades crafted to impress our bosses. These filters don’t just hide our flaws; they often deceive others and, worse, ourselves. They can blind us to the truth, making us miss the bigger picture of what God is doing in our lives.
The Knowledge Filter
One of the most significant filters affecting us today is the lack of knowledge, particularly the knowledge of God’s Word. This filter plagued the people of Israel during the time of Jesus. They longed for a Messiah but filtered their expectations through their desires for political liberation and earthly glory. As a result, they missed the greatest moment in history: the arrival of Jesus Christ.
This same lack of knowledge often leads us to make poor decisions, overlook blessings, and misunderstand God’s purpose for our lives. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” When we reject the knowledge of God, we not only miss His plans but also set ourselves up for unnecessary struggles.
Learning from Zechariah
The story of Zechariah in Luke 1 provides a profound example. A righteous man and a priest, Zechariah should have recognized the angel Gabriel’s message about the birth of his son, John the Baptist, who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Despite his faithfulness, Zechariah doubted because he filtered God’s miraculous promise through his human understanding and limitations.
The people of Israel shared this blindness. Even with access to the prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi, they failed to see the fulfillment of God’s plan. They didn’t connect the dots between the Scriptures and the reality before them.
Removing the Filters
What filters are distorting your reality today? Are you filtering out God’s truth because of distractions, pride, or misplaced priorities? Imagine the transformation in your life if you fully embraced the knowledge of God’s Word, allowing it to guide your decisions and open your eyes to His blessings.
As Jesus said in Matthew 11:15, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” The challenge is clear: tune into God’s truth and remove the filters that block His reality.
A Call to Action
This season, let’s take a moment to reflect. What has the lack of knowledge cost you? What blessings might you have missed because you didn’t see with God’s perspective? It’s time to repent, to dive deeply into His Word, and to replace the filters of distortion with the clarity of His truth.