Setting the White Point. . .

Today’s digital DSLR cameras are amazing. From auto-focus to auto-selection of lens aperture, shutter speed, and ISO they are amazing, but even with all of their powerful internal electronics, and processing it is usually necessary to tweak the various levels of the image. I love shooting in-flight bird pictures. 

For those shots, using a very fast shutter speed is required. I can correct for an exposure being too dark. I cannot correct for a picture being blurred due to too slow of a shutter speed. Oftentimes the raw camera image taken will be too dark, and there may be other problems. I usually allow the camera to automatically choose what is called the white balance. Each set of lighting conditions effects the color spectrum differently. Sunny/cloudy/shaded/fluorescent lighting all effect how the camera sensor records colors. 

Occasionally the camera software will badly mis-interpret the lighting conditions and render very strange color effects in the image. One way to correct for this is to choose a part of the image which is pure white. That is called setting your white-point. Tell the processing software what pure white is, and let it set the proper levels of the picture from that. . . 

But it’s not only in processing pictures that white points are set. Before coming to God, I looked upon myself as a good person. I used as my ruler. . . as my measure, of the things I saw and read of other people doing. 

 I set my white point as myself, and graded others as darker shades because of the things I saw them doing that I did not do. Sure I got drunk, but I never beat my wife. Yeah I might take small things occasionally, but I never robbed stores or mugged anyone. I never raped anyone. . . never killed anyone.  

In my measure, my white point was myself. If you’ve never seen pure white. . . if pure white is not to be found in your picture. . . your world, then you can be fooled into thinking that any shade of gray is pure white. . . Until that is, you meet the One who is truly pure white, and then your error can clearly be seen for the foolishness that it was. 

Then you can see how dark and filthy your supposed righteousness really was. I would give a bag lady $20. . . I picked up litter as I walked the trails in a state park. . . I helped little old ladies cross the street. . . never mind my drunkenness, my lying, my stealing, my immorality. . . I only saw my good aspects. I completely ignored my darkness. . . until the day I met Jesus. His whiteness was pure and unimaginably bright. 

What I had seen as my white, was actually a very dingy gray.

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But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (Isaiah 64:6 KJV)

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My unrighteousness was revealed after meeting Him. My eyes were opened. The true measuring stick, was not ever meant to be my fellow man. There is no comfort or justification to be gained from the sins of my neighbor. There are no misdemeanors and felonies under God’s law. Sin is sin is sin is sin. . . 

The undeniable fact of others around me sinning will not help me when standing before God, and giving an account of my life. There is no bell curve in God’s grading system. He grades on a purely pass/fail system. 

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For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23 KJV) 

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His requirements are tough. His expectations are high, but He gave us the answers to the test ahead of time. We enter the final exam with full fore-knowledge. He gave us His Holy Word. By His sacrifice, He made a way that everyone can pass through death's door, and gain eternal life. 

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Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:37-39 KJV) 

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I love you my God. . . 

I thank you my Lord. . . 

❤ 

Dave