Iyar 4
Transparency
“There is nothing covered up that will
not be UNCOVERED, or hidden that will not BECOME KNOWN. What you have spoken in the dark will be
HEARD in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be
PROCLAIMED on the housetops.” (Luke 12:2-3 CJB, emphasis mine)
The island I was
raised on in the Caribbean is home to the first underwater National Park ever
created by the U.S. National Park Service.
In the clear water of the Caribbean Sea, there are underwater trails
marked for both the advanced scuba diver, and the leisurely snorkeler to enjoy,
all the time watching a brilliant display of tropical fish in their natural
habitat. To the less brave at heart, and
for those who are not aquatically inclined, there is also a glass-bottomed boat
through which you are able to view many of the park’s features, without having
to get wet. All of it is an adventure
that is not soon forgotten.
As a young child
growing up, the “transparency” of the glass-bottomed boat was a phenomenon that
intrigued me, and I marveled at the ability to see everything beneath the
surface of the water with such clarity. It
was the greatest treat that my mother could give me: an afternoon spent on the glass-bottomed
boat! Elohim has often used the memory
of this boat to show me the necessity, the responsibility, the requirement, of
being transparent, of being real, not
only with Him, but with others as well.
We all hide
behind our “hulls”, our shells, not allowing anyone, even our Master, to see the depths of what is going on in
the ocean of our beings. But YHWH, who
created every ocean (including the
one we hide in), knows what is swimming around inside of us already. He merely waits patiently for us to invite
Him inside. Then, and only then, is He
able to assist us in removing those “garbage fish” that don’t need to be there,
and allow the beautiful, colorful, “tropical fish” to flourish freely, as they
should.
ABBA Father is
asking us to learn to be transparent
with each other, as well. Yes, all of us
have been hurt, just as Messiah Yeshua was also betrayed. That is the real world: people hurt the ones
closest to them. But only as we learn to
continue to keep our eyes, and our
hearts, on Yeshua, and allow Him to deal with the hurts, can we find the value
in transparency. We cannot expect others
to be transparent with us if we are not willing to be the same with them.
The glass on the
bottom of the boat had to be cleaned on a regular basis, in order for it to
remain clear enough for people to see through.
The same principal applies to the glass through which we allow others to
view us: if it is not inspected and
cleaned on a regular basis, it too will become cloudy. Our light will not be able to shine brightly,
or clearly, before men, that our Father in heaven may be glorified (Mat
5:16). And the only brand of glass-cleaner I know that is worthy of
mention is called the Holy Spirit of
YHWH …
“Your eye is a lamp that provides light for
your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But
when it is bad, your body is filled with darkness. Make
sure that the light you THINK you have is not actually darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole
life will be radiant, as though a FLOODLIGHT were filling you with light.” (Luke 11:34-36 NLT , emphasis mine)
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