THE PERSPECTIVE OF YEARS

“Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. Festus answered, ‘Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.’”  (Acts 25:1–5 NIV)

This thing going on with Paul and the Jews and the Roman court system would have hardly been a blip on the radar screen of anyone. We must discard any assumption we have that this story was somehow newsworthy. Looking back from the twenty-first century, the whole thing unfolds before us as a stunning God-sized story of cosmic proportions. At the time, who even knew it was happening, and of those who knew, who really cared?

Looking back, the only reason we even know the names of Felix and Festus and half a dozen other bit players of history is Paul -- that's why we know them. History has its way, doesn't it? That's how history happens. It often takes the perspective of years to see what really mattered and what didn't. At the time it's impossible to know.

Remember that when you think about what you are doing today with your life. In the present, it can seem oh so small and insignificant. I think that's what Jesus was trying to get across [in Matthew 13:31-32] when He talked to us about the mustard seed becoming the largest tree in the garden. Be encouraged, Christian! Don't give up! Give yourself to what may seem small today. It's worth it. It matters. You matter. Press on. Invest your resources in what many may consider a kingdom of God longshot. Every big story was once a very small story. It's why I spend so much time talking about seeds. The whole story is in the single seed.

C. T. Studd put it well in the refrain from his famous poem, "Only one life, twill soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." 

-- Excerpted from “Wake-Up Call” with J. D. Walt 

#6226

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

I do not believe we can always properly label the moments that come to us.

Last spring one of my closest friends had a very serious heart attack. For a while it really didn’t look like he would make it. But he grew better and was finally strong enough for the surgery which is supposed to give him a new lease on life. I was with him in the fall and he was still talking about the experience.

“How did you like your heart attack?” I asked. “It scared me to death, almost,” he replied.

“Would you like to do it again?”  “No!”

“Would you recommend it?”  “Definitely not.”

“Does your life mean more to you than it did before?”  “Well, yes.”

“You and your wife have always had a beautiful marriage, but are you closer than ever?”  “Yes.”

“How about that new granddaughter?”  “Yes. Did I show you her picture?”

“Do you have a new compassion for people -- a deeper understanding and sympathy?”  “Yes.”

“Do you know the Lord in a richer, deeper fellowship than you had ever realized could be possible?”  “Yes.”

“How’d you like your heart attack?”  Silence was his answer. 

-- Adapted from “Something’s Going on Here” by Bob Benson

#6212

GOD’S POWER AND SUFFICIENCY

The Lord said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV)

We worship because God is worthy, not necessarily because we "feel" like it.  In the midst of a crisis, if we only do what we feel like doing, we could remain stuck in a cycle of self-pity.  But when we worship, we get our eyes off of ourselves and our sorrow or problems.  We focus them on God, and this puts our difficulties into proper perspective.

Most of us think of worship as a Sunday-morning activity in which we gather in a church, sing some songs, and listen to a preacher.  Genuine worship, though, is when what flows out of our lips and out of our lives are words and works that glorify God and honor Him for who He is and what He has done.  We worship when we reflect His Glory -- His character and likeness -- to others in the way we live.  And doesn't it seem that everyone around us is watching especially closely when tragedy strikes in our lives?

Surely our worship in the midst of pain and sorrow is particularly precious to God -- because it costs us so much.  Worship is not made easier, but it becomes all the more meaningful when offered from a heart that is hurting.

The truth is, worship during these times can be some of the most meaningful worship we ever experience.  Perhaps we are more fully equipped to worship than ever before because we are acutely aware of our desperate need for God and our own incapacitating weakness.  We have our helplessness and inadequacy in proper perspective to God's power and sufficiency. 

-- Nancy Guthrie in “Holding on to Hope”

#6043

RIGHTS… AND RESPONSIBILITIES

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”  (Ephesians 4:1-3 NIV)

Many today are quick to seize upon their rights, but are far less eager to embrace their responsibilities. Certainly, Jesus died to make available certain rights and privileges to us, but what about our Kingdom responsibilities?

Someone once said, “I am tired of hearing about our rights. The time has come to hear about our responsibilities.”  While that statement was probably made as a secular observation of society, there is no doubt a great need for believers to make sure our own focus, attitude, and perspective is healthy.  If we are so preoccupied trying to secure our rights that we are not focusing on serving the needs of others, then we may have some significant adjustments to make…

I encourage you to learn all that you can about your rights and privileges in Christ Jesus, and enjoy them fully. However, let’s also remember that this whole thing we call Christianity isn’t just about what we can get; it’s about what we can give. It is about rights AND responsibilities.  

-- Excerpted from an article entitled “Rights and Responsibilities” by Tony Cooke 

#5931

NEW LIFE, NEW PERSPECTIVE

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”  (Colossians 3:1-3 NLT)

Paul explains true Christian behavior – putting on the new self by accepting Christ and regarding the earthly nature as dead. We change our moral and ethical behavior by letting Christ live within us, so that He can shape us into what we should be.

Setting our sights on heaven means striving to put heaven’s priorities into daily practice. Letting heaven fill our thoughts means concentrating on the eternal rather than the temporal.

“For you died” means that we should have as little desire for this world as a dead person would have. The Christian’s real home is where Christ lives. This truth gives us a different perspective on our life here on earth, looking at life from God’s perspective and seeking what He desires. This is the antidote to materialism; we gain the proper perspective on material goods when we take God’s view of them. The more we regard the world around us as God does, the more we live in harmony with Him. We must not become too attached to what is only temporary. 

– From the “Life Application Study Bible” (NLT)

#5880

DEVELOPING A NEW PERSPECTIVE - Part 2 of 2

“A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”  (Proverbs 19:11 NIV) 

Notice the word wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view, getting God’s perspective on a situation. From that perspective I gain three important insights. 1) I am only human; I am not God. Of course, God knows that, but He wants me to acknowledge it also. I am not perfect, and I am not in control. In fact, most of the things I face in life I cannot control. 2) No one else is perfect either, so I should not be surprised or overly upset when people make mistakes or let me down. 3) God is in control, and He can use the situations, the irritations, and the problems that come into my life to accomplish His purposes for me.

-- Rick Warren in “God’s Power to Change Your Life”

#5839

DEVELOPING A NEW PERSPECTIVE - Part 1 of 2

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  (Philippians 2:3-4 NIV)

Patience begins by changing the way you view something. When I am impatient, I have a limited perspective. All I see is myself: my needs, my desires, my goals, my wants, my schedule, and how people are messing up my life. The root of impatience is selfishness. So I need to get a new perspective on life from other people’s point of view.

Would you like to know the secret of success? If you want to be a successful husband or wife, learn to see life from your partner’s point of view. If you want to be a successful parent, learn to see life from your child’s point of view. If you want to be a successful business person, learn to see life from your customers’ point of view. If you want to be a successful employer, learn to see life from your employee’s point of view. Look at the situation from the other’s point of view and discover why that person feels as he or she does. I don’t know of anything that has greater potential for reducing conflict in your life. 

-- Rick Warren in “God’s Power to Change Your Life”

#5838

HOW TO FINISH WELL – Part 6 of 6

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  (Hebrews 12:1-3)

How do we finish well?... Those who finish well have a Christ-centered life,… a focused life,… a disciplined life,… a teachable spirit,… a well-networked life, and…

Sixth, along with all the other traits, those who finish well have what I call a lifelong perspective. They try to take the long view of life – to look at things with the end in mind. This is not to say they don’t at times become disoriented or tempted to launch out on detours. All of us do. But when tempted, certain life disciplines help them stay on course… There are multiple ways to think about life with your end in view. The point is, do something to get this perspective. It will keep you from being sidetracked and give you an enlarged perspective.

Each of these characteristics play a part in helping us finish well – by God’s grace, a Christ-centered life, a focused life, a disciplined life, a teachable life, a networked life, and a lifelong perspective. All play a part in our staying on track so we can finish our race. So that in the end we hear our Master say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23a)

-- Adapted from Donald W. Sweeting and George Sweeting in “How to Finish the Christian Life: Following Jesus in the Second Half”

#5623

A HEAVENLY PERSPECTIVE

“My child, be attentive to My words;
incline your ear to My sayings.
Do not let them escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Keep straight the path of your feet,
and all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil.”  (Proverbs 4:20–27)

Perspective is everything. The higher you are, the better you see. That's not just true with flying, but with life, as well. Some of us travel through life at ground level, seeing with only a limited, earthly perspective. Such people see only the bottom half of the mountain. But, to the contrary, others see life from a much different vantage point. They see from an elevated, heavenly perspective. They see the top half of the mountain protruding above the clouds. In reality, they see as God sees. Where you stand [and which way you are facing] determines what you see.

-- Steven J. Lawson in “Heaven Help Us!” 

#5597

DYING TO OURSELVES – Part 2

“We don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at Him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges!”  (2 Corinthians 5:16-17 The Message)

[Jesus] turns the world’s views inside out and upside down. He simply cuts against the grain of how we naturally think, and we realize that to follow Jesus, we need to retrain our minds to focus through spectacles we’ve never worn before. The key to thinking His way is an utter surrender, a giving up of the old ways, which never would have worked anyway. 

-- Kyle Idleman in “The End of Me: Where Real Life in the Upside-Down Ways of Jesus Begins” 

#5456

A SEARCH FOR MEANING

“Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”  (John 17:3 NIV)

It is not only those who are growing old, finding the shadows of life lengthening, who are in search of meaning; there is a desire in every human being to find some kind of unity and coherence, some meaning in the diverse experiences of life. All of us instinctively want to find some kind of key that will unlock the secret and meaning of good days and bad, joy and sorrow, youth and old age, sickness and health, life and death. We want some kind of framework of understanding within which we can find perspective, and be freed from the delusion of confusing that which is truly important with the monumental trivia of life. It is, I think, only the overview of faith that can provide for us this insight into life, this meaning of life. As Dag Hammarskjold recalled in his book, “Markings”, “On the day I first really believed in God, for the first time life made sense to me and the world had meaning.” 

-- John Powell in “A Reason to Live! A Reason to Die!”

#5375

DEFEAT HELPS KEEP LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  (Philippians 2:3-4 NIV)

If we win all the time -- or if we think we're winning when in fact we're not, for sometimes we fool ourselves -- the elements of life get out of proportion.  As a matter of fact, we need an occasional defeat to help us remember that God is God. Many people in public life -- especially entertainers, athletes, and politicians -- come to believe their own press releases and to think they're above the rules of ordinary human beings.  Wealth does the same thing to many people.

What happens in these more prominent positions happens also at every other level of life.  We see it on the playground, at the community club, in the classroom, and, saddest of all, in the family circle.  It's painful to see someone broken by defeat, but sometimes it is the most important experience a person will ever have.

It can be hard to know God if we're so enchanted with our own successes that we become unduly fascinated with ourselves. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “If Experience Is Such a Good Teacher Why Do I Keep Repeating the Course?” 

#5150 

A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, not angels, nor principalities, now powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

In the final days of his life, William Saroyan joked with a friend visiting him in the hospital.  "I always knew that people don't live forever," the famous writer said, "but somehow in my case, I thought there would be an exception made."  Like Saroyan, we all have trouble imagining our own deaths.  However as we grow older, that reality looms larger and larger.

I suppose I didn't really give dying much serious thought until a life-threatening illness visited me a few years ago.  Then my life came into perspective, and time was of the essence.  Shortcomings were magnified, mistakes easier to admit, forgiveness easier to ask, estrangements mended, things undone and unsaid acted upon.

Although the crisis passed, I was changed more than a little by my brush with death.  Time has become more precious, relationships more important, and God's manifold gifts and grace more appreciated.  And a magnificent piece of Scripture more meaningful than ever before.  It comes from Paul's letter to the Romans, the incomparable eighth chapter, which concludes with the question: "What can separate us from the love of Christ?"  The apostle's answer: Nothing. Not tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril or the sword. And certainly not death.

Once we have that assurance in our hearts, once we know and believe and trust the One Who died for us, the length of our life becomes far less important than its legacy, its duration far less significant than its contribution.

-- Fred Bauer 

#5089

THE FABRIC OF LIFE

Jesus said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”  (Revelation 22:13 NIV)

History is like a giant piece of fabric with very intricate and complex patterns. During the limited span of our lifetimes we see only a tiny fraction of the pattern. Furthermore, as has been observed by others, we see the pattern from the underside. The underside of a weaving usually makes no sense. Even the upper side makes little sense if we view just a tiny piece. Only God sees the upper side, and only He sees the entire fabric with its complete pattern. Therefore, we must trust Him to work out all the details of history to His glory, knowing that His glory and our good are bound together. 

--  Jerry Bridges in “Trusting God”

#4887

LIVING BY FAITH

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”  (Galatians 2:20)

A faithful person sees life from the perspective of trust, not fear. Bedrock faith allows me to believe that, despite the chaos of the present moment, God does reign; that regardless of how worthless I may feel, I truly matter to a God of love; that no pain lasts forever and no evil triumphs in the end. Faith sees even the darkest deed of all history, the death of God's Son, as a necessary prelude to the brightest.

-- Philip Yancey in “Reaching for the Invisible God Study Guide”

#4386

OUR TOUGH GOD

“Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My victorious right hand.”  (Isaiah 41:10 NRSV)

We have a tough, problem-confronting, problem-solving God. He does not retreat from either the problems we have brought on ourselves or the problems life has dished out. And He wants to make us much tougher people. He wants to give us a new perspective on our problems, exercise our prayer muscles, and strengthen the fiber of our souls. Instead of wringing our hands in consternation or running away in panic, He wants to make us people He can use.

…He wants to transform our approach to problems. He wants us to think of ourselves as being men and women of valor because of His might at work in us. And He assures us that His abiding presence is available to help us tackle every problem with His strength and direction -- confident that problems are not a sign of His absence.

…We all have problems. That’s life. But we also have a Lord who not only helps us grow through our problems, but gives us the power to triumph over them.

-- Lloyd J. Ogilvie in “If God Cares, Why Do I Still Have Problems?”

#4376

GREATER FAITH AND DEEPER PEACE

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT)

The expectation of an easy life from God has produced more agnostics and atheists than has any other false belief.  When people live faithfully but suffer pain and discomfort anyway, many turn from Christianity.  They never grasp that a healthy faith does not shield a believer from pain, but rather gives a new perspective on life and a renewed trust in God that lessens the pains of existence.  Each time a negative event occurs, God can use it to bring greater faith and deeper peace.

-- Stephen Arterburn and Jack Felton in “More Jesus, Less Religion”



#4332

PAIN CAN PUT LIFE IN PERSPECTIVE

Affliction is particularly effective in helping us reevaluate our priorities.  When Thomas Chalmers became pastor of the church at Kilmany, Scotland in 1803, he was a young man of twenty-three with little real interest in religion.  He had taken the parish primarily so that he could also teach mathematics and astronomy.

As time went by, Chalmers neglected sermon preparation and the care of his people.  The church went into steady and precipitous decline.  After several years he was stricken with a serious illness.  For four months he was unable to leave his sick room, and for almost a year he did not preach.  Slowly he came to realize that his view of Christianity as simply an ethical system was not sufficient to see him through this valley of the shadow of death.  There in the lonely place of his illness he faced himself and the shallowness of his beliefs, until he experienced a dramatic religious conversion.

In the years that followed, Chalmers became the most powerful preacher in Scotland.  And with it, he came to have a compelling social conscience.  The finest pulpits in Scotland were available to him, but he also chose to minister to the poorest of the population in special services on a tanner's second story.  A century later Lord Roseberry said of him, "An illness lifted him into a higher sphere, and he soared aloft."  Illness can do that to us, because it helps us get our values in order.

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “If Experience Is Such a Good Teacher Why Do I Keep Repeating the Course?”


#4261

AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

“Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.   And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7 NRSV)

She wished she could be more like her husband. Nothing ever seemed to get him. He took everything in stride, and he acted as though he hadn’t a care in the world. She, on the other hand, worried about everything. She was positive that if there was something that could possibly go wrong, it would. She didn’t mean to be negative, but she couldn’t help it. She wanted to be able to let go of her doubts and fears, but so far she hadn’t been able to.

It’s sometimes hard to realize that God gave us life as a gift. Many times it feels like such a burden. God never wants us to suffer unnecessarily. Part of the message that Christ brought to this world was that no one had to face problems alone. God is with us always. Another part of His message was that nothing on this earth is important other than our relationship to God and to our neighbor. Job, finances, illness, and a hundred other things create stress in our lives, but when compared with the bigger picture of eternal life, they are totally insignificant. As Christians, we need to learn to look at the world through eternity-eyes, rather than temporal-eyes. Our home is in heaven, and everything that happens to us now means nothing, so long as we have our relationship in order.

-- Dan and Nancy Dick in “Daily Wisdom from the Bible”


#4158

FRAMED BY LARGE PERSPECTIVES

“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.”  (Psalm 34:18)

“Religion is for old people,” my buddy declared as we drove through the countryside. I found his comment a little insulting: I was a church goer, age nineteen. Was that so wrong? I lost touch with him; now it’s been twenty-five years since we’ve spoken. But he was on to something. At twenty, the road looks clear all the way. We arrogantly waste time, try a hundred new jobs or relationships or ideologies, believe any fool thing. The heart is not yet broken, not in the way it is when time crashes down on it -- soured dreams, career missteps, divorce, illness, the death of loved ones, the passing of so much we love. By old age the ghostly procession of the once-was can be unbearable.

My heroes include any elderly persons who keep the flame lit, who still feel inspiration aand outrage at ideas, current events, history, movies, books, national tragedies, spring flowers, the passing parade. Somehow they take it all in. Life enlarges their spirit, becomes fuel for the remaining journey, seasoned with humor, not bitterness. They age with dignity. Part of the dignity is keeping the inevitable heartbreak framed by large perspectives and by going deeper into the grief, not denying it.

-- Ray Waddle in “A Turbulent Peace”


#4068