Snapshots on the Soul

snapshot of the soul

By Lynn Mosher

Don’t you love it when God shows you something new or shows you something you already knew but in a new or different way? The Lord brought something to my mind in my prayer time the other day. Not really something I didn’t know but something revealed in a new way for me to discover.

Humor me for a second. Shut your eyes really tight and then open them again. So, what happened? The more you closed your eyes, the less light you saw, right?

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Nothing new or different here, you say. Okay. How about this? (If you are familiar with how a camera works, hang in there. And if you’re not, hang in there!)

The body of a camera is sealed from any light except for a convex lens in one side. This lens, when opened all the way, receives full light, and as it is closed down, receives less and less light.

Like a camera body and lens, our body has a lens, our eye, or rather, our eyes. The lens of the eye opens and closes to let in light.

Our eyes also act as a spiritual lens. Luke tells us that the “eyes are the lamp for your body.” (Luke 11:34a CEV) Or as the King James says, “thine eye is single.”

Single, as in singleness of purpose or focus. If our eyes are not focused on the Lord, our vision is crowded and clouded with other things. If “your eye is unclouded, your whole body is full of light.” (Luke 11:34a GWT)

When we are filled with trials, griefs, disappointments, circumstances, self-sufficiency, sin, a negative attitude, pride, selfishness, unforgiveness, or whatever, our spiritual lens closes down on, less and less Light of the Lord can penetrate our heart and spirit.

Having our eyes wide open for all of God’s Light is essential. However…

The camera lens has what is called aperture settings or f-stops (or openings) through which light travels, regulating the amount of light passing through the lens onto the film or digital component.

A higher number f-stop will let in half as much light as a smaller number before it. So, the smaller the number, the larger the opening of the lens. (Seems backwards, doesn’t it?)

Changes to f-stop openings also affect the focus (depth of field). So, if you use a higher number f-stop (smaller opening), the more focused the picture will be.

Distance also affects the focus of the subject. The greater the distance, the higher the f-stop opening is necessary so that more will be in focus. The closer the object, the more the object will be in focus, while the background becomes fuzzy. However, if the lens is adjusted for close-ups, then all of the close-up will be in focus. (Unless, you choose for some of it to be out of focus.)

What do we choose to focus on? Do we want to focus on Jesus close-up, or at a distance?

Do we choose close-up, desiring Jesus to be the object of our full focus while the rest of the world remains fuzzy? Or do we choose at a distance, which encompasses the whole world view, and lose our focus on Him?

Though we want everything to be in focus, God doesn’t always allow the whole picture to be clear; therefore, we need to focus on Him, close-up.

When you take a picture, the lens concentrates the light, making an impression in the camera, whether on film or digitally, and forms an image.

What do our little eyes spy that makes an impression on the film of our soul, heart, mind, and spirit?

What we look at, what we focus on, becomes imprinted as snapshots within us.

Have you discovered your best place of focus? May the snapshots on your soul be filled with the Light of Life.

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Snapshots on the Soul
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