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)

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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”

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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”

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HOW DO YOU SEE PEOPLE?

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”  (Matthew 14:14)

When Jesus looked out at the crowds interrupting His day off, He saw people who longed for God. People who had rowed three miles across the lake or walked seven miles to reach Him. People who’d made a real effort to spend their time with Him.

To Jesus, the gathered people were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Jesus was tired, but the people in front Him were more important than His own plans and need of rest. Jesus saw people as God saw them. How do you see people? Especially those who interrupt your “me time” or who cause you irritation or frustration on busy days?

Ask God to help you see people through His eyes. Look at people from His point of view, as sheep who need the Shepherd. Then be willing to give your time and energy to help them find Him. Move your focus off yourself and onto the needs of others… for Jesus’ sake! 

-- Anne Graham Lotz in “Fixing My Eyes on Jesus”

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HEAVEN'S PERSPECTIVE

"From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard Him thus no longer."  (2 Corinthians 5:16)

Part of the joy and challenge of being a Christian is looking past the temporal and seeing the eternal; trying to see things from heaven's perspective.

-- Danny Wuerffel, retired NFL quarterback, in Sports Spectrum


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