Take a Second Look at Our City

Take a Second Look at Our City Hero Image

I wake each morning to a dim and blurry world, clumsily reach my hand over to the nightstand, and search for my glasses. As I put them on my face, I begin to see clearly a room that at first glance looked like a two-year-old’s scribble.

In a way, we all see the world as if through glasses. Our experiences, background, education, and beliefs craft a unique pair of lenses (not always with the right prescription) through which we perceive the world. These are the glasses that shape our expectations, motivations, hopes, and fears.

A New Lens

Paul prayed that the Ephesians would have the "eyes of their hearts enlightened" (Eph. 1:18). Elisha prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of his servant "that he may see" the spiritual reality of the trial they faced (2 Kings 6:17). In the same way, the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Spirit’s transforming work in our lives give us a new lens for seeing the world. Then we can see the world as it really is: beautiful (as God’s creation) but broken and marred from sin.

J. Mark Betrand writes about this concept in Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in the World:

To awaken to our true interests, to see our condition in its proper perspective, demands the ability to take a second look. There is spiritual dimension to this: throughout Scripture, blindness and sight are used as signs of unbelief and belief. But at its simplest level, taking a second look requires only a willingness to see things differently, to entertain (at least tentatively) a different interpretation of reality. I say that it requires ‘only’ this, not because it is easy to do, but because the effort is small; what is difficult is recognizing the need to take a second look in the first place.

As Christians, we may "see" the city every day but not truly see it with the eyes of Christ. We need to take the "second look" that Betrand describes.

My Own Second Look: At Our City

This whole idea came into greater focus for me this past year through a program called the Pegasus Fellowship. Pegasus helped me develop a biblical lens to see more clearly how the gospel applies to the places where I work and live.

We learned to ask different sorts of questions about where we are:

  • How does this place exhibit God’s good and perfect creation?
  • What is broken here because of sin?
  • How can/does the gospel bring redemption in this area?
  • What does faithfulness look like in this context?

The biblical foundation illuminated in class was sharpened through various experiences - such as touring Downtown Dallas, visiting Baylor Medical Center, engaging with entrepreneurs at the DEC, and serving in West Dallas through ACT.

Through our questions and our actions, we were taking taking a second look to see the city.

Will You See the City?

This summer, Watermark's Give & Go: See the City campaign is an opportunity to take a second look at the place we live, to see the people and the needs and this place through a biblical lens.

But year-round, we all have this opportunity too. Whether it's by getting equipped (even through something like Pegasus Fellowship!), serving with Ministry Partners, or just connecting with your neighbors, we hope you will engage in a "second look" at the places you live, work, and play. Our city is far more beautiful than we realize - and at the same time is more broken than we thought.

Seeing the city through the gospel allows us perceive it clearly and live in it faithfully.


_Watermark is a partner with Park Cities Presbyterian Church on The Pegasus Fellowship. Pegasus is an intensive nine-month theological and spiritual development program, with a special emphasis on the place we spend most of our time - the workplace. (There were 11 different industries represented in the 2015-16 Fellows class.) To learn more, visit_ pegasusfellowship.com or email Ryan Wall at rwall@watermark.org.


Photo Credit: tobyleah via Compfightcc