I recently bought myself a new camera and have been getting to grips with all the features it contains. Yesterday was a beautiful day (unusual for a Bank Holiday Weekend) so I spend some time out in the garden playing with my new toy and really finding out what it can do. One of the features I had rather ignored was the automatic focus button and thought it was something that was beneath my capabilities as an experienced photographer - perhaps not in a dissimilar way to how we think we know better than God when we disregard that small, still voice in our heads in preference to doing something the way we want to do it. How many times when we have failed at doing it our way do we realise that simple idea that we pushed aside was actual the best way and the job would have been done in half the time had we tried it first?
Getting back to the camera, I had tried all of the other features and taken numerous trips back into the house to upload pictures I had taken and study them to see how they had turned out and thought I would do a comparison with the auto focus and scene selector button. I sat in my chair on the decking and zoomed in on various plants and features in the garden that were way quite some distance away and could not even make out clearly with my naked eye. I was stunned by the results. Everything came into sharp focus and really made things stand out in sharp relief as it clouded out the background. That button that I had discounted was simply amazing.Once again I was reminded of Jesus. How often He is just a blurred image in our thoughts and minds - we know He is there but we just don't look very closely. But, oh, the wonders when we do finally fix our minds on Him and focus on him properly. He stands out clearly and the rest of the world seems to fade away - just in the words of that old hymn - Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His Glory and grace.
So, what lessons has my camera taught me? To begin with, never consider myself to be so good at something I have no need of being shown another way, especially without even trying it first. If I try it and don't like it or don't think it any better than what I am already doing then, fair enough, carry on as I was but I never know what delights I might discover if I don't try something new.
More importantly, I know I should fully focus on my Lord and King and spend time in His presence and concentrate on Him and, when I do, He will be there, magnificent and glorious. He truly is a beautiful Saviour and worthy of gazing at - the more I look, the more I see and the more I listen the more I learn. Ever patient, ever faithful, ever waiting for me to turn to Him, He is always there in the background of my life, often neglected and forgotten, but when I zoom in with that automatic focus He takes pride of place and He is simply wonderful.
