Nicky Gumbel’s new glasses
During a recent Sunday service we listened to Nicky Gumbel’s “optician story” – part of his Alpha 1 talk. Having resisted the thought of wearing glasses for some time, he was amazed what a difference a pair of glasses made to his sight. He could see all the detail that before was just a blur. Everything looked new. He likened this to the experience of a person who finds Jesus. Everything looks different! It was a similar thought that inspired John Newton, author of the hymn Amazing Grace to write, “I once was lost but now I’m found – was blind but now I see!”
In our Bible discussion based on Paul’s visit to Athens described in Acts 17, we asked ourselves – why was the apostle Paul so upset when he saw the city full of idols? The Amplified Bible translation says he was angry. Part of the answer must surely be that the people were giving credit to and seeking help from beings that didn’t exist instead of the true and real creator God. Imagine a parent giving an expensive birthday present to child who promptly went around giving credit to the next door neighbour or worse still an imaginary neighbour!
The link between these two themes is TRUTH. Jesus is the Truth. Finding the Jesus provides something that makes sense of life. The gospel is the TRUTH. It restores us to a relationship with the One who made everything and who has a purpose for the world he made.