I Can See Clearly Now...

...the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

It's funny how clarity can change things.  After the first big winter storm the schools were all closed and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader had just been released, so we packed into the car and headed to the show.

The roads weren't too bad but there was a constant spattering of stuff on my windshield.  I hit the mister and nothing happened except for the mud and grime to smear.  The realization of traveling on an expressway with no visibility was a little nerve racking.  This got worse as I had to slowly make way around the exit ramp cloverleaf without falling off the side.

I learned a timeless that day: Clarity IS important.

In the previous post we talked about the importance of language.  Here's the thing though: language without clarity is useless.

This hit home for me a few years ago as I was engaged in a conversation with some Mormon missionaries (it always strikes me as odd how many are named "Elder").  We were talking about Jesus, grace, faith, God, and Bible.  It seemed as though things were moving along well but it turned out that we were going nowhere.

I thought we were discussing the same things because we were using the same language.  I could not have been more wrong.

We did not have clarity.

Our definitions were totally different.  We were not even close to understanding one another and as a result our conversation slipped into mundane futility and frustration.

In a conversation about anything, let alone Jesus, the conversants must have a clarified understanding of the words they are using or there will be constant confusion and frustration. For those of us who want other people to follow Jesus we must listen closely to hear where we can build a bridge and in so doing we bring clarity.

Paul Tarsus was speaking at the Areopagus in Athens when he said these words, "For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. (Acts 17:23 ESV)"

He wanted to bring clarity and that he did by redefining "the unknown god" to that of the revealed God, Jesus.

May we take the time to clear the clouds and reveal the Son!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HagzTRmUBIE