Try some reminiscing with one of your siblings.  Just pick out a story from your childhood years and throw it out for conversation.  I am the oldest daughter in a family of four, and I have done this, talking about events of childhood with my sister, who is the youngest of the four.

How my sister and I can share genes from the same two parents and still come up with two entirely different sets of perceptions – feelings, thoughts, and attitudes – about the same event, is really amazing.

I doubt that any two people perceive things the same way.  There are so many ways to view the world – to view oneself – to view others – and to view God.

There are so many examples of this in art, culture, and relgion, but the one I like best is a famous Indian legend that tells of six blind men who happen upon an elephant.  All of these men, being sightless, relied on their hands to touch the elephant.  The first man approached the elephant and randomly ended up touching the elephant’s leg.  To him, it felt sturdy and well-built, and so he declared that the elephant was like a pillar.  The second blind man touched the tail, and came to the conclusion that the elephant was like a rope.  The third man, who felt the trunk, decided that the elephant was like a tree.  The fourth, who grasped the ear, thought the elephant to be a large fan.  The fifth, who encountered the elephant’s stomach, thought him like a wall.  And the sixth, who felt the smooth sharp trunk of the elephant, came to the conclusion that he was a spear.  Of course, all of the men only had a partial grasp of what an elephant actually is – they only saw one side of it.

I like this story because it reminds me of the ways we are blinded by perception.  It is tough for us to see the whole picture and experience it for what it is. The way to get around this challenge is to remold reality to fit our perceptions.  If I define it in a certain way, that’s the way it is for me.  And if I’m persuasive enough, I can convince you that this is the way for you, too.  Maybe you can relate to this.

Jesus’ role to reveal the Father on earth was not an easy assignment.  As he lived and worked in the world, Jesus encountered many perceptions – blind spots – that kept people from recognizing Him, believing that He came from God, and following Him.  The Son of God met things in people’s minds and hearts that were engrained.  Sin they had lived in – commandments they had broken – commandments they had kept.  Pride and prejudice.  Mental illness and physical infirmity.  Ways of perceiving who God was and who He should be.

• The Jewish people who saw themselves as Abraham’s children. (John 8:39-46)
• The rich man who kept the commandments – and loved his possessions. (Matt. 19:16-22)
• The Pharisees who equated Jesus’ behavior with that of a glutton and drunkard. (Matt. 11:17-19)

But it is not clear, because of perceptions.  Different ways of looking at things that keep people from the truth.  Even to this day, perceptions exist that blind people to who Jesus is.

• Beliefs and traditions taught and handed down for generations that He is a prophet and teacher – but not God.
• Ways of reading scripture that affirm that Jesus was God to His disciples, but not to me or others.
• Atheisim (there is no God)
• Humanism (we are all Gods)
• Pantheism (everything is God)

My question is, how does one get beyond these engrained perceptions, and believe in Jesus, the Son of God?  For me, though I was not a Christian, I was raised as a Catholic, and taught about Jesus Christ.  It was not much of a leap to become a Christian.

But what about someone who is taught opposing viewpoints to Scripture?  For instance, someone who is a Muslim or Hindu?  A humanist or an atheist? How do they see the elephant as it is, not blinded by their versions of reality?

This has puzzled me for years.  All I can come up with is that God – the true and living God – has the power to change perceptions.  To lift blindness, to give clarity, to illuminate the truth that is Jesus in a way that is so compelling that we leave the perceptions behind – or not.

It is humbling to realize that even that – is my perception, from what I’ve read, experienced, and what the Bible teaches.  What are yours?