“But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.” (1 John 4:4-6 NLT)
The first time I flew I wanted a window seat, and I had my camera in hand. It was a very cloudy, rainy day, and the sun was completely hidden. But as the plane broke through the clouds, the sun was bright and all I could see were puffy, pillow-like clouds. It was breathtaking, a sight I’d never seen before, an opportunity for me to gain a new perspective on the majesty and magnificence of Almighty God.
Perspective is a value that’s grossly underrated in the day in which we now live. We get so locked in on our perspective of things we too often fail to realize there are many others whose views of life are quite different from our limited and too often very narrow view. For example, overtime we begin to believe that all Christians are just like us. They think like us, act like us, believe like us, sing the same songs, love the same translation of the Bible, have the same traditions, view doctrine like us, in short, are just models of us.
But the plot thickens when we make the shift from simply thinking they’re like us to believing they SHOULD be like us and therein lies a very big danger. The God of heaven loves diversity. If He’d wanted us to all be alike, that’s how He would have made us.
Did you realize there are more than 400 species of sharks and 17,500 species of butterflies? So? So, why would we expect the Lord to make one kind of follower? Our church has over 50 language groups represented in our family and it’s a slice of heaven. When we sing together, we raise our voices to one Father, one Savior, one Redeemer, one Lord, but we’re all very different!
Yet, our experience of Him is as unique as each of us is unique. God doesn’t have a “one-size-fits-all” view of us. He loves us uniquely, as if we were His only child. He knows us individually and understands our needs like no one else can. God doesn’t make rash statements of condemnation, He understands exactly who deserves condemnation and who doesn’t, and He treats us each accordingly.
A quote from Darlow Sargeant was included in a devotional calendar that I have where he wrote: “People will know that you live in a constant state of anxiety by the lines on your face, the tone of your voice, your negative attitude, and the lack of joy in your spirit. So scale the heights of a life abandoned to God, and your perspective will change to the point that you will look down on the clouds beneath your feet.”
That’s the perspective I long to have! How about you? “A life abandoned to God.” What do you envision when you think about that? To me it means freedom from anxiety, relaxation in the strong arms of my Savior as He undergirds and supports me in every endeavor, every need, fear, sorrow, confrontation, or concern. Its life lived in harmony with the Lord of my life who owns me and has my best interests in His heart and mind.
I’m not a shark, butterfly, or bird, but I know my heavenly Father watches over me.
That’s my perspective.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 