Everyone was sympathetic. There were tear-filled eyes all across the room. The tears of the twelve-year-old flowed freely. He could not control his emotions. He had been given a special pair of glasses which would correct a condition of colour-blindness that he had had from birth. It enabled him to see life in colour.
With the glasses on, he was shown a very colourful picture. A riot of colour mesmerized the boy’s imagination. It was something that had never happened all of his life before then. Oh, what joyfulness!
Colour-blindness is the inability to distinguish the differences between colours. A colour-blind person can neither see colours nor their brightness. He may also not be able to see shades of the same or similar colours. For example, someone who has red-green colour-blindness would have problems distinguishing between some shades of red, yellow, and green.
Colour-vision is a vital element of good sight. Colour answers to the beauty of life: loveliness, gorgeousness, exquisiteness, magnificence, splendour, diversity, etcetera, etcetera and etcetera. (Did you ever watch Yul Brynner? He was one of the great maestros of classical movies. I got that “etcetera” thing from him in “The King and I,” in which he stared with Deborah Kerr).
Monochrome may sometimes have great artistic value, but when a person is colour-blind, it is a different ball game. Life ought not to be monochromatic. When I was growing up, black and white TVs were what we had. Now we have colour. The difference is clear!
Colour represents beauty: the beauty of variety, the beauty of diversity and a departure from monotone. Colour speaks! In creating the universe, God did not only grant form and function, He also granted aesthetics, of which colour is a vital facet. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time. King Solomon was celebrated as the wealthiest monarch of his time. He was famed to have made:
…silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.
The man was stupendously wealthy. With such a status, one could only imagine the glory of his royal grandeur, and not only his but also that of his entourage and servants. The Queen of Sheba would gasp for breath seeing all of it. Yet, Jesus said, “In all of his splendour, Solomon was not arrayed like the lilies of the field.”
I once lived in Jos, Nigeria. At the first rains in the year, some of the hills would be taken over by a coat of flowery bloom. They would come alive in striking colours; a kaleidoscope of aesthetic splendour.
As a strong contrast from the preceding season of monochrome in deep grey and sometimes pale green, it was just breathtaking, making a statement of magnificence and glory.
Scientists tell us that some animals see in monochrome. Some others do not even see at all – like the bat, which is only able to decipher its surroundings by emitting sound waves that bounce off objects back to them in echo. I cannot imagine life without colour. Can you? I believe it would be very boring and uninspiring.
God created the world to be colourful and I believe He intended our lives, our relationships, experiences and all that concern us to be colourful. Not only should our lives be colourful, but we should also add colour to the lives of others.
Perception is about the way we see. And the way we see determines the way we live and the way we relate with others. Invariably perception affects the way we make progress in life.
No two humans are the same. We are created in a diversity of ‘colour and shade.’ Creation is a tapestry of beauty in diversity. Bigotry, racism, class-culture and the like are symptoms of colour blindness because in them we do not see God’s beauty in diversity.
Do you celebrate and respect diversity? Do you acknowledge people who are different from you? On the other hand, does your world revolve around you or you assume that your perception of life is all that there is to it? If so, your vision is monochrome in nature and your life might be lacking colour.
We do not have to believe everyone’s ideas, but we can respect anyone and believe the best for them. We can love people even though they may be different from us.
People, no matter how diverse they may be, are at the centre of the Christian gospel. Every tribe and tongue, every nation matters to God. Therefore, people no matter their status or background, must matter to every follower of Jesus Christ.
In Christ, there is a bond. Christ is the glue that binds us together. Through Him, all our colours are woven into a beautiful tapestry of many colours where Christ is all in all and we in Him.
In this new creation life, your nationality makes no difference, or your ethnicity, education, or economic status- they matter nothing. For it is Christ that means everything as he lives in every one of us!
In Revelation 5:9-10, there is an interesting passage about people who have been redeemed by God through the blood of Jesus Christ:
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
They are kings and priest who shall reign on earth. Do not let myopia exclude you.
At the beginning of this year 2020, I wrote about 20-20 vision. We looked at the parameters of visual wellness. How good is your sight when rated on vital parameters of visual wellness: 20/20 vision, focusing ability, peripheral awareness, depth perception eye coordination and colour vision?
Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word”
Friend, really it is about how you see; how you relate with God and with people. It is about how you live life. How well do you see? Do you see life in monochrome or colour?
Thank you. Do not forget to keep living, loving and learning.
References: Ecclesiastes 3:11, The Message; 2 Chronicles 1:15; 1 Kings 10:4-5; Luke 12:27-28; Colossians 3:11, TPT; Jeremiah 1:11-12, NKJV; (Romans 2:28; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11).
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