Beautiful Spectrum

They say that color is subjective; it really is. Humans are only able to distinguish a fragment of the spectrum, and dogs even less. So imagine if we were able to see every color and pigment bouncing and stretching and glowing all around us. Imagine the brilliance that would overwhelm us and how engulfed we would be in the gradient of the sky and the hues in each blade of grass and the stripes on the watermelon rind. It might hurt at first or be a bit shocking in the first discovery, but the pain would be worth it once we crossed the threshold and dove headfirst into the chaos – there would be so much beauty that it would be impossible to look away. I believe that is how God sees us. And that is how we are intended to see each other.

A Beautiful Spectrum

God created this beautiful spectrum containing opposites and blends, stark contrasts and harmonies in all of His creation, including us. We are a melting pot of different ideologies, cultures, languages, political views, styles, backgrounds, and personalities. And sometimes, these aspects become insurmountable barriers. We see that they exist and that we are different, but we fail to reach beyond that.

It’s as if having a differing opinion or ideology is an all-powerful wall that prevents us from ascending beyond surface facts and into the tangled, hidden meanings. We cannot see past our limited color spectrum into the cloaked, vast beauty. I believe that God has such an unconditional love for each of us because He has access to the entire spectrum of our beings. He can see the intricate secondary and tertiary colors when we only see the primary ones. Therefore, God treats us with compassion, love, patience, and dignity. And He teaches us to do the same.

Seeing Beyond

If we come upon someone whose color spectrum clashes with our own, then we do not stick around long enough for our eyes to adjust. We move along and decide we are right; they are wrong. Black and white, done and done. But if we even attempt to tap into what is beyond that, we see something bigger: we see a frequency that includes them and us, not us versus them. When we come across someone whose political opinions differ from our own, we might see that they have those opinions because of their background, we might see their good intentions, and we might see that they are living the best way that they know-how.

For example, in the story of Jonah, we so easily see the Ninevites as transitioning from pure evil to good. But the Bible says that before they were given God’s message, they didn’t know that there was a need to repent. According to their limited vision, they were living the only way they knew how to live. Today, we are no different. Our limitations might be different from the Ninevites or our coworkers, but we all still have limitations. So this brings the biggest shocker: we see similarities between ourselves and them. We might connect to them. And that’s when we get a glimpse of new color.

New Color, New Vision

Looking into the bigger spectrum is difficult. It’s daunting. It’s uncomfortable and awkward and undesirable at times. But it is necessary. Once, Jesus got on His hands and knees, made a salve out of dirt and His saliva, and spread it on a man’s eyes, just so that they could share a new color. Jesus had to go out of His way and stretch the limits of Himself and those around Him. But it was so worth it that even hundreds of years later, people still see fringes of new color from that one act.

Gaining this new vision is not a process that we can fast track. It might start as a gradual fade, and the new colors will be a bit murky, but there will be a smile. There will be a handshake. There will be a conversation. And there will be late-night revelations. Then the colors will sharpen and gleam. There will be a friendship. There will be more people, and there will be meetings at coffee shops. Bridges will be built across oceans. Communities will form. We will connect and understand and live in this love: an all-reaching, inclusive, gorgeous kaleidoscope.

If you liked this, you might also enjoy Misjudging Motives. 

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