the colors of Heaven

The lightning-fast work of judging a color begins in the retina, which has three layers of cells. Signals from the red and green cones in the first layer are compared by specialized red-green "opponent" cells in the second layer. These opponent cells compute the balance between red and green light coming from a particular part of the visual field. Other opponent cells then compare signals from blue cones with the combined signals from red and green cones. (Geoffrey Montgomery, Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Our bodies are such fabulous machines that the complex functions they perform happen without notice or conscious thought.  The short passage, copied above, gives us a feel for one example of this wonder: seeing color.  This time of year we are especially appreciative of color, as nature is awash with every shade from red to violet.  One of the biggest amazements to me is how fast our brain can process all of the operations identified by the author to paint the scene before our eyes.  To appreciate color we need two amazing aspects of creation to fit together.  We need light, with its full range of color contained within, and we need the capacity to receive light and interpret its color.  Similarly, to appreciate the color of the Lord, in complete relationship with Him, we need the Light of Heaven and the capacity to receive and process that light.  When Jesus came He explained that He was the light of the world but that something had to be activated within us before we could properly interpret that light.  Some people insisted that they could already see...others owned up to the reality that they had been stumbling their entire lives.  For those willing to admit their blindness, Jesus provided the capacity to process His light...and for the first time people began to see in the full color that God had intended.  As we put our trust in Jesus...the true light from Heaven...our vision is expanded and we realize that we have been seeing incompletely.  Have you seen the colors of Heaven?

John 9:¹⁰ Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" 

¹¹ He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight." 

John 8:¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

 

blessings,

Rob Smith