Remember to look upward

By CHERYL CRUCE

One of the things I remember being taught in my childhood is the art of looking up. We would lay with our backs on green grass to see the sky. On our summer trips, I often sat in Mom’s lap (before the mandated seatbelt laws), and she would help me find the different shapes in the clouds.
She constantly reminded us to lift our heads and watch where we were going. She believed looking down could cause a person to miss the good things that came their way. Looking up is an art that is learned, just as looking down is now being known.
With the new age of technology, we are losing this skill of looking up. Everywhere you turn, people walk with their eyes cast down into these little screens called smartphones. You can often see someone stumble, bump into an object, or walk in front of a car because they are looking downward and not paying attention.
We have come a long way from the party line of my youth. Just as the calculator and computerized cash registers have stolen the capability to count change, electronics are stealing our need for eye contact.
These devices are not the “bad” of our lives. Each of these has a place in our world. We miss the moments that count when we allow objects to take our eyes off the beauty around us and no longer look up to see family, friends, or creation.
Mom taught us to lift our heads to see our surroundings. However, the Scripture teaches us to look up to our Heavenly Father. When the children of Israel came out of slavery, the Lord went ahead of them. He was a pillar of cloud in the day to guide them. At night, the Lord rose above them as a pillar of fire that would light their way (Exodus 13:21). Throughout their journey, they were safe if they looked up to the Lord. Nonetheless, when they cast their eyes downward to their own devices, they weakened and fell into danger.
If we want to remain a vital people of faith, we must lift our eyes to God. What we see now is only for a moment in time, but what is unseen is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18), beyond the scope of time. The Psalmist lifted his eyes upward, realizing his help came from the God of creation. He knew God would not allow him to falter and that God would be his protection in times of trouble (Psalm 121). In times of crisis, God remains our protection when we look upward toward Him.
We live in a world so shaken with hatred and violence that we cannot afford to cast our eyes downward. Leonardo da Vinci said, “Once you have tasted the taste of the sky, you will forever look up.”
We should become people who learn to look beyond the sky. As we gaze upward, seeking the face of our Heavenly Father, we will taste and know that He is good. Blessings will flow when we take refuge in Him (Psalm 34:8). Our sanctuary of peace will be found when we lift our eyes toward Heaven. Therefore, let us begin to look upward to our Lord from this day forward, finding our salvation in His presence.

“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:26


Cheryl Mixon-Cruce is Pastor of Ochlockonee Bay United Methodist Church and Sopchoppy United Methodist Church.