Collective Soul made a #1 hit out of the song The World I Know in 1995.
I was 15 when the song debuted; a sophomore in high school. I remember seeing the video for the first time. I was moved. It was the first song in which I felt instantly connected to the message. Even now, I am taken back to that day when I hear the song or see the video. And that’s how you know a song has really left it’s mark.
Are we listening?
Hymns of offering.
Have we eyes to see?
Love is gathering.
Shortly after becoming a father (some 2 1/2 months ago), my son, London, and I were on the way to the mall and The World I Know came on the radio. The song suddenly felt different and it made me think: what it was like to see the world out of his eyes?
All the words that I’ve been reading,
Have now started the act of bleeding,
Into one, Into one.
So I walk up on high,
And I step to the edge,
To see my world below.
And I laugh at myself,
While the tears roll down,
Cause its the world I know.
Oh its the world I know.
Innocent.
Pure.
Unashamed.
Real.
Honest.
New.
Curious.
Peaceful.
Excited.
Willing.
Zealous.
Engrossed.
In Matthew 18:2, Jesus tells us we must return to the pure heart and mind of a child in order to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Perhaps it’s because children see the world the way God sees the world. Unfortunately, I approach the world with bias. Lucky for me, God doesn’t approach me with bias.
Our country entered into a season of change when we elected a new President. Change that was predicated on the promises to be different than we were before. We need to be different. But not politically different.
We need to be Jesus different.
To approach the world unashamed.
With Love.
Willing to accept those around us.
Despite our differences.
Much like Jesus accepted and loved us.
As parents, we try to be the example for our children. To demonstrate the behaviors and attitudes that we believe to be acceptable. But as parents, we are the ones who need to learn from our children. Not to show them the world we know. Rather to learn of the world that they know. And then approach life with the same love, passion, mercy and grace that God approaches us with.
That’s the world that I want to know.
