June 6, 2021
Perspectives Matter
People
see things differently. Take, for example, the Apostle Paul. That great
missionary of the first century spent a lot of time in jail. Some people saw
him as a rabblerouser. Others viewed him as a passionate preacher espousing
faith in Jesus the Christ. Authorities in Rome Jailed him as an enemy of the
state. His Christian friends would have said Paul was a prisoner of Caesar.
That
was not Paul’s perspective. Writing to his friends, Paul said, “I am a prisoner
of Christ Jesus because of my preaching to you Gentiles.” In Paul’s mind he was
not a prisoner of Caesar; he was a prisoner of Jesus and using his imprisonment
to advance the gospel.
Your
view of what is happening to you, or others, makes a huge difference. Take
suffering for example. A friend lost her husband after a yearlong battle with
cancer. She was not unhappy with God for letting her husband die. Instead she
praised God for using her husband’s suffering to strengthen her faith and the
faith of her children.
It
matters how you view bad things happening to good people. Viewpoints differ
widely. One person may believe God does not have the power to prevent the
suffering of the innocent. Another person believes God allows suffering but
does not cause it. Someone else views God as actually hurting with his children
when bad things happen. Your perspective matters because it determines how you
feel about God.
If I
lose my job, I can feel forsaken by God or I can believe that God loves me and
has another plan for me. I can feel mistreated by my employer and give up or I
can expect God to open another door for me. Perspectives matter because they determine
our state of mind.
The
Apostle Paul is well-known for having written in Romans, “And we know that
in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose.” It makes a profound difference to believe
that “in all things” God is working for our good — even when we don’t
understand what is happening in hard times. Easy to believe that? No, it takes
faith in the character of God to believe it. For me, finally believing that God
is like Jesus freed me to believe that God is always working for my good.
Each
of us is free to view life differently, but every viewpoint has consequences.
The perspective you choose will determine whether your mind is filled with
peace and hope or fear and despair. We shall be wise to ask the loving God who
created us to help us choose daily healthy viewpoints because perspectives
matter. + + +