GETTING A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

 

Isaiah 55:8-9

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,"

declares the Lord.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 

                We were driving in the countryside the other evening when the moon began to rise in the east. It was a magnificent full moon. Later, it illuminated our backyard with its soft light. As I watched the moon in its ascendancy, I was struck by how our perspective shapes our understanding.

                Today, even though we know that the earth revolves around the sun and not the other way around, we still speak of the sun and the moon rising in the east and setting in the west. From our perspective the sun and moon move across the sky as we stay in one place. But when astronauts travel in space, they see the world from a totally different perspective. The world, which seems so large to us, because relatively small as viewed from space.

                We view our life on earth from an earthly perspective. We interpret what happens in life from the vantage point of daily life. Therefore, we deem things good or bad based on our perspective of the world. Like ancient peoples, we view ourselves as the center of the universe and all else revolves around us. Even though we acknowledge that this perspective is not true, we still tend to live that way. We interpret events, big and small, in relationship to how they affect us. In many ways, we have a very narrow perspective on life.

                As a believer in Christ, we become aware that there is a totally different perspective from which to view life. That is an eternal perspective, or better yet, God’s perspective. God is more like the astronauts who can view the whole of earth at one time. God sees all that there is; that which is visual to us and that which is not. He can see how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together, while we are limited to seeing only our small part of the puzzle. Therefore, God’s perspective is complete, while ours is limited.

                One of the outcomes of placing our faith in Jesus Christ is that we are awakened to God’s perspective. We begin to get a glimpse of the big picture. We can see that things that may look negative on the surface might actually be positive, while things that seem positive on the surface may in fact be negative.

                One of the reasons that Jesus came into the world was to open our eyes to see things from an eternal perspective. Just like those who were willing to challenge the common belief that the sun revolves around the earth, Jesus was willing to challenge the common perspective of His day, and ours. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, six times Jesus challenged the perspective of His audience with the words “you have heard it said, but I say.” Jesus challenges us to embrace an eternal perspective, which will change the way we interact with our world. He wants us to place value on what will last not on what is temporary and vulnerable. As Jesus stated in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

                In the business world, leaders talk about getting the 5000-foot view of situations. People tend to get caught up in the details, or caught in the weeds, as the phrase goes, and lose their perspective. Although the details are important, we need to interpret them from a greater vantage point. Jesus calls us to view our world from a spiritual 5000-foot view; from an eternal perspective. When we do this, we can begin to see how the different pieces of life are supposed to fit together. Temporary gains and pleasures are replaced by long-term gains and benefits. We are able to face the many challenges of life with courage, strength, and endurance. As Paul put it in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.