Seeing Through Things

Minsan ba nasabi mo na sa sarili mo na sana nababasa mo ang iniisip ng ibang tao? Malamang sa mga lalaki, they can relate with me when I say, “sana naiiintindihan ko ang takbo ng isip ng mga babae”. It doesn’t matter kung sino ba siya sa buhay mo, as long as babae siya, marahil hinangad mo na maintindihan kung gaano nga ba kabilis tumakbo ang ‘train of thoughts’ nila. Ok sige, pagdating sa mga babae madali niyong mahuhuli ang mga lalaki kung sincere ba o hindi sa mga sinasabi namin, though alam naman namin may intuition naman talaga kayo sa kung ano ang totoo sa hindi.

If we can read minds, most probably we’d think that we can minimize misunderstandings sa mundo. Paano ba naman, alam mo na agad kung sarcasm lang ba ang totoo na ang sinasabi ng isang tao. Madali lang din malaman kung gusto ba nila tayo o hindi. Ang dali-dali siguro magdesisyon kasi we will no longer be left in the hands of presumptions. Imagine how things will go between couples. Ang saya di ba?

Pero when we see through things, malaki din ang mawawala sa atin. Sa context ulit ng mga couples, mahirap nang i-qualify ang effort kung ‘effort’ pa nga ba na matatawag kung hindi naman talaga diniscover ang gusto mo at ayaw mo. Everything’s just plainly revealed. The element of surprise will no longer be ‘surprising’ but rather mapapalitan ng ‘expected ko na yan’. Yung raw emotions nang pagkamangha, pagka-gulat, pagkatuwa at iba pa ay mababawasan, o di kaya’y tuluyang maglalaho.

Eh paano kung hindi mo magustuhan ang iniisip sayo ng ibang tao? Ang sakit sa puso nun di ba? Posibleng makaramdam ka ng galit sa taong yun, at malamang ay iiwasan mo na siya sa susunod. Maraming relasyon ang masisira. Hindi mag-ooperate ang tunay na pag-ibig kung lahat ng ating iniisip ay nakalantad sa madla.

Maraming mga panahon na naging laman ito ng panalangin ko:

• “Lord, baka naman po pwedeng malaman ko po kung ano yung plano Niyo para sa akin.”
• “Ano po ba yung gusto Niyong gawin ko, Lord?”
• “Lord, I don’t know which way to go and what to do, tulungan Niyo naman po ako.”

What if we can read the mind of God? Yung mga tanong at panalangin natin na kagaya ng nabanggit ko ay mabibigyan agad ng tugon. We will be spared from lots of heartaches and pain dulot ng ating mga mistakes and missed priorities. Di ba ayaw din naman ni Lord na nasasaktan tayo? Generally, sino ba namang ama ang nagnanais na masaktan ang kanyang mga anak?

Yet things don’t operate the way we want it. It takes an intimate relationship with the Lord to comprehend His plans in our life. At hindi pa nga natin totally mababasa ang Kanyang isipan dahil syempre, He is an infinite, eternal, omnipotent God, as opposed to our finiteness.

It takes faith on our part to trust God na kahit hindi natin nababasa ang kanyang isipan, alam natin na maaari Siyang pagkatiwalaan. It takes faith on our part to understand na His ways are higher and dependable than ours.

Yet He is gracious enough to lead us to His perfect will through His written Word, the Bible. Pero to give us specific, to the detail, and black and white instructions on which way to go, which option to choose or the specific words to say, unfortunately hindi ganun ang paraan ni Lord. It takes faith on our part to trust God na kahit hindi natin nababasa ang kanyang isipan, alam natin na maaari Siyang pagkatiwalaan. It takes faith on our part to understand na His ways are higher and dependable than ours.

Actually it’s a blessing din nga for us not to know the details of His plans sa buhay natin. Mas nae-excite tayo how things will unfold for us. Mas nagiging dependent tayo at mas lumalalim ang ugnayan natin sa Kanya. The moment He reveals His plans, mas nauunawaan natin at naaappreciate how He operates in His divine schedule. Mas naiintindihan natin kung bakit tayo nasaktan, kung bakit tayo iniwan, kung bakit tayo nawalan, kung bakit kailangan marami muna tayong maranasan. At the end of the day, as Christians we “walk by faith and not by sight”.

Isa pa, hindi Niya rin tayo hinayaang masaktan kagaya ng sakit na nararamdaman Niya sa tuwing binabalewala natin Siya. He can see through us clearly, dahil omniscient Siya. Everytime we reject Him, ignore or make fun of Him, He sees it, hears it and feels it. Alam Niya ang lahat ng iyon pero He is gracious and merciful enough to forgive us and bear with us. Imagine kung alam natin how people think about us – life will be a never-ending pursuit of trying to win people’s affection and escaping their judgment on us. Ang hirap nun! Ang bait ng Diyos ano?

John Piper, in his book Don’t Waste Your Life, quoted C.S. Lewis and it reads:

You can’t go on “seeing through” things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to “see through” first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To “see through” all things is the same as not to see.

Makes sense, right? Hindi rin maganda na ang lahat ay plain and bare sa ating harapan. Not being able to see through things makes life more exciting and rewarding. Mas maganda pa ring makita ang ‘raw’ emotions ng mga mahal natin sa buhay through our ‘efforts’.

The best thing is, we may not be able to see through things but let’s thank the Lord that He sees us through. Dun pa lang panalo na tayo e.