The Guardian /More Than Meets the Eye

Last Christmas my mother gave my siblings and me a gift of money.  I decided to buy a piece of art that I had admired for many years.   As you can see, this painting depicts what we can not see in our physical existence but what is none the less very real and very powerful.

The Guardian by Thomas Blackshear is only out in a limited number of prints and is hard to find.  The prints are not cheap. The frame cost even more.  It drove a couple of my children nuts when I hung the finished work in my youngest son's bedroom.  The most expensive piece of art in my house, they said, should be in a prominent place in the living room.

But the piece rightfully belongs in my son's room.  For you see, the illustration of the angel is also a representation of who my son is inside his flesh.  To most people my son is slow in processing thoughts and has a hard time learning new things.  In our world, he is of lesser value because he can only do menial work and will always need to be supervised.  People don't spend much time with him because he is not as witty, not as smart, not as "good" as most.  He is snubbed by most.

My son, Justice, is the youngest of five children. I learned much from teaching my other four children and I am glad God gave Justice to me last. I had lots of ideas for teaching him. For me one of the best things about teaching is seeing the "light" turn on in the eyes of the learner when they understand a concept being taught.  I rarely saw that light when I taught Justice.  To him everything sounded like astrophysics no matter how many approaches I took to unlock even the most elementary things.

I needed to re-evaluate my goals for Justice's education.  For the rest of my children, getting a quality academic education was very important.  Justice was not going to be able to meet the academic goals I had for the rest.

I asked God what my goal should be for him. His answer was to consider what He will require of us when we come before the judgement seat.  I realized then that none of us will be asked about our math scores or our reading ability.  We will not be quizzed on literature or science.  God will ask each of us if we loved people and served them.  Were we honest?  Did we love the truth?   Did we pursue holiness?  Every person is able to pursue God and learn to love justice and righteousness.

These are things my son does pursue.  He is cheerful and loves to be with people.. He is helpful and kind.  He quickly forgives and never holds a grudge.  He is honest and humbly asks forgiveness when he is in the wrong.  Since he does not use the internet and only watches old family videos, he is not tainted by the promiscuous world around us like we are.   Although he lives a lonely life in the eyes of most, I believe he is set apart for God's use.

I am reminded of the story of Gideon when he took his 300 men to surround the enemies of Israel. See Judges 7. They surrounded the enemy camp at night with a torch in an earthen vessel in one hand and a trumpet in the other.  They blew their trumpets and smashed their clay jars. Then their torches shone brightly. The enemy warriors awoke and fled in terror.

This story speaks of a time soon to come when those who have been waiting for the LORD and who have kept their lamps burning brightly with the oil of the Holy Spirit will hear the trumpet.  Then those who have lived to serve their own flesh will see beyond the flesh of these glorified saints and will see the flame of the Holy Spirit.

This picture of The Guardian reminds me of my son's identity.  I see him as the sleeping child, innocent in the flesh, but also as the mighty warrior in the spirit.  My son Justice is more than meets the eye.

1 Samuel 16:7 "...Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."