The Obvious Isn’t So Obvious

Growing Daily

The Obvious Isn’t So Obvious

Years ago, I taught art classes at a local school.  Every semester, I emphasized one lesson: look closely at the world around you. 

When people say they can't draw, the problem isn’t necessarily a lack of talent, but a lack of observation.  Often we don't really know what things look like, even when we see them every day. 

To illustrate this, I asked the class to draw a passenger jet from memory.  We've all seen airplanes, yet the drawings were wildly inconsistent — wings in the wrong places, tails out of proportion, windows wandering up and down the fuselage.  It was remarkable how little was retained about something so familiar. 

When I passed out a picture of a real jet and had them study it, their drawings improved immediately.

Sometimes the same phenomenon happens with Scripture.  We assume we understand a verse, or we skim past a familiar passage.  But when we slow down and carefully observe the details, the context, and the message God is communicating, we begin to see it with new clarity and depth.

Psalm 119:18 says, "Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions."

The psalmist wasn't asking to see something brand new. He was asking to truly understand what was already there.  The text hasn’t changed.  What changes is our willingness to pause and look more closely.


- Ron Reid