Scripture Reference: Genesis 28:10-22
The House of God Is a Place Where Our Vision Is Enlarged
When we come to the house of God to worship, we ought to have our vision enlarged. The church is the place where we are to dream without falling asleep. As we assemble to worship God, we ought to dream of what God would have us to accomplish in this world.
James Russell Lowell has described the effect that Emerson had on young people in his day. He said that after hearing Emerson they went out not entirely sure what he had said, but with their heads “hitting the stars.”
Jacob had this experience. The Bible states: “Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” Jacob’s vision at Bethel was a life-transforming experience. He would never be the same.
What happened to the great men and women in the Bible when they went to church? They went out with a new vision. Young Isaiah, the student, went to the temple, and in the temple he saw the Lord high and lifted up. The magnificence of God was so great that his life was never the same. He cried out, “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).
When Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured, the Bible states their vision was lifted, and they said, “Let us make here three tabernacles” (Matthew 17:4). When John, the beloved disciple, was banished to the isle of Patmos, on the Lord’s Day he received a vision as he worshiped. He saw into eternity. God gave him a view of a new heaven and a new earth where the kingdoms of this world became the kingdom of our Lord and where Jesus reigns forever and ever.
The house of God ought to teach us to be positive, dynamic, and believing. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). How important that is! When we come to the house of God, our visions ought to be lifted, our spirits ought to be enlarged, and the horizons of our faith lengthened.
A noted artist was working on great mural. He intended for it to be a masterpiece. A friend came into the studio and stood quietly in the rear of the room, looking at the work as the artist slapped on the deep blue and gray tones across the canvas for the background. Wishing to view the work from a better perspective, he descended the ladder and backed right into his friend without seeing him. Enthusiastically the artist said: “This is going to be the masterpiece of my life! What do you think of it?”
His friend replied, “All that I see is a great, dull glob.”
The artist responded: “Oh, I forgot. When you look at the painting, you see only what it is. When I look at it, I see what it is going to be!”
That’s the difference in people in the world today. The great thing about going to church is that the church lifts our vision from earth to heaven. The church lifts our vision from the here to the hereafter. The church lifts our vision from now to the future. When we come to the house of God, we see beyond conflict and war to permanent peace. When we come to the house of God in the midst of our struggles, we see that victory is ours. The house of God lifts our sight from time into eternity. In the house of God our vision is lifted.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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