Late one summer day, around 1981 or 1982, I was driving along the highway from Phoenix to Yuma, Arizona. I was stationed at the Indian Health Service Hospital in Yuma and had been to Phoenix on business. This was a route I had driven many times before and it always seemed a dull and boring ride. The dust, extreme heat, and lack of variety on the desert landscape, the sameness - I had seen it all before.

However, I was making this trip late in the day, and driving toward the sunset. So, I watched the sunset. No, to be more accurate, I experienced the sunset! It was a thrilling sight too, for God put on a spectacular display of beauty that evening. Nearly two hours of spectacular beauty, in fact!

As the sun lowered toward the desert floor on the far horizon it took on the appearance of a gigantic red ball flung through the sky in slow motion. The sky grew darker by the moment, but then came the brilliant pink and raised glows as they reflected high up in the sky, filling the heavens with color. Wow! What a sight!

Traveling along I thought of the great host of people who never have the opportunity to see such a sunset. Natural or human obstructions keep their eyes from seeing. In addition, there are many people who are like the ones Jesus described as having good eyesight, yet unable to see. He said, “You have eyes - can’t you see?” (Mark 8:18 TEV)

The sense of perception is what Jesus was talking about. This refers to the way we see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. We all have our own personal way of perceiving the world around us. That is why those who study human behavior are interested in how things seem to us. Our behavior will be determined largely by the way in which we perceive the world.

No human being can live life to the full unless there is the discovery and use of the God-given capacity to sense and reflect beauty.

One characteristic of good mental health is the development of perception. It is also an indication of our spiritual growth and well being.

Thank You, Lord, for making us rich by giving those million dollar views. Help us to look outward and inward that we may perceive Your wonders. May we be more sensitive, more aware, more thankful, and more alive.

Ed Carter
http://www.ed-waco.com/