Seeing the unseen.

My favourite binge-watching content on YouTube focuses on restoration projects, especially that of overgrown properties, old motorcycles, antique furniture, and tractors and heavy machinery from bygone eras.   I admire the dedication of people who want to bring long-neglected, often devalued “stuff” back to life.  

While there is great satisfaction in seeing the old stuff made useful again, what I really enjoy is how so many of those who take on these projects do so simply out of passion for “the thing” they are restoring.  Sometimes the restorer is a pro (especially with antique furniture), but often it is simply someone with a lot of curiosity and energy who just wants to see “the thing” function again.  Admittedly, these are YouTube videos so who knows how much editing and behind-the-scene support the content creator may receive.  That’s okay;  everyone needs help from a mentor from time to time.  Most of them do seem to accomplish their projects primarily on their own grit and determination.  

“Ahh,” you may be saying to yourself right now.  “I see where this is going.  We are all restoration projects, and God is doing a good work in us.”  

Thankfully, that is true, but there is something else these restorers - the human ones - have in common.  They see the unseen.  Most people look at the object that has caught the restorer’s eye and think, “It would be better to get a new one.”  That choice may be driven by any number of factors such as economics or pragmatism;  it is essentially saying, “I don’t see the value in that anymore.”  Restorers, on the other hand, look beyond the appearance of “the thing” and recognize there is inherent value - perhaps because of a memory, or its uniqueness, or just for the joy of what “it” is.  They begin by answering the question, “What am I looking at?”  

The author of the second Gospel, presumably a guy named Mark, grants us insights into the ministry of Jesus from the perspective of His disciples.  A disciple was not simply a fanboy of Jesus’ teaching.  When Jesus invites the 12 men to be His disciples (Mark 3:14), He is asking them to become His apprentices and to value something most people don’t see.  He asks them to see the unseen, namely, the Kingdom of God.  They usually reply with, “What am I looking at?”  

Mark is bold to document the disciples’ learning process.  In Mark 8, Jesus asks the question, “Who do people say I am?”  Peter rightly responds, “You are the Messiah.”  Jesus goes on to explain that He was going to suffer and die, and then raised again on the third day.  Peter, who just gave the Gold Star answer about Jesus’ identity, is bold enough to begin lecturing the Creator of heaven and earth on the foolishness of that plan.  Jesus’ response is direct:  “Get behind me, Satan.”

Oops.  There’s a mistake Peter probably never forgot.  It was a learning moment for him and for all the other disciples who witnessed the discussion.  Jesus makes one thing clear:  the Kingdom of God does not function like the Kingdom of man (Mark 8:33).

A little while later, Jesus repeats this teaching (Mark 9:31).  The disciples still don’t understand and, perhaps recalling Peter’s encounter, are afraid to ask Jesus for further clarification.  Evidently, they still fell into the same trap.  Jesus asks them what they are talking about and they go all quiet on Him.  They had been talking about which of them would be the greatest in Jesus’ coming Kingdom.

Oops.  Jesus sits down with them - again - and patiently explains that, in the Kingdom of God, the last will be first and the first will be last (Mark 9:35).

Mark records several of these kinds of conversations for us in his Gospel.  He is not trying to embarrass anyone, especially Peter (who seems to dominate at the foot-in-mouth skill).  Mark is guiding his readers toward this truth:  there is value in the Kingdom of God.  It is unseen by the many.  But it is real and present.

Life in the Kingdom means learning new skills, nurturing a new perspective, persevering when everyone else thinks you are crazy (Mark 13:9).  Mark wants all those who are Jesus’ apprentices to understand it isn’t just about jumping through the hoops;  life in the Kingdom is about passion for its value, even though unseen.