Artistic drawing isn’t something that I have any pretence of being good at, but I have a basic understanding of structure. Those components that are meant to be close need to be drawn larger than those that are in the distance, even if the far object is very much bigger in reality; it all comes down to perspective. Clearly, this will also depend upon one’s viewpoint, where we are positioned in relation to the objects that we intend to draw.
Parallels
There is, of course, a spiritual parallel when it comes to viewpoint and perspective. Our natural position is earth-bound, and more than this, it depends on our immediate circumstances. How we view situations may be influenced by our family context, whether that is the immediate family, our ‘tribe’, or any expectations that we may have based on family heritage. Our socio-economic position may affect our perspective, as may our marital status, whether we have children or not, and family responsibilities generally. Our personal context may prompt us to raise objections to things that we read in the Bible or hear preached, perhaps due to scepticism or else because specific biblical teaching conflicts with our expectations.
Perspective
There is, in my book ‘The Viewing ~ An Outside-in View of Essential Christianity’, one particular topic where I begin my answer by emphasising the need to have the appropriate perspective. This book addresses 70 questions that those on the outside of Christian faith may genuinely pose. The topic in question is: “Why do bad things happen?” This is obviously a tricky one to tackle, but it is answerable. If we look at this from an earthly standpoint, we see suffering of various types, brought about, sometimes by evil and otherwise by seemingly random causes. Our natural instinct is to ask why God doesn’t do something about these things – why doesn’t he end such calamities, put a stop to disasters and to harm in its various forms? This is something that everyone asks sooner or later – it is a very important question to which we need to be able to give a sound and reasonable response. But, to do so, we must bring the questioner to a place where they can see the problem not from a human perspective but from God’s viewpoint.
Intention
And so we come to the question posed by the present topic: What is your viewpoint? As Christians, we generally believe that God intends to bless us, rather than to bring about harm to our lives (see Numbers 6:24-26; Jeremiah 29:11; James 1:17). I believe this, but recognise too that we appreciate harm from a human perspective rather than a heavenly one. We are OK with harm if we understand that it is being done for our good, such as undergoing surgery in order to effect healing, feeling hungry through dieting to become healthier, or a child receiving discipline so that they will learn how to become self-disciplined. However, we tend to have difficulty if we cannot comprehend the reason; if we see the negative from a human perspective, but can’t see the positive outcome that God intends.
Challenges
This brings us to the topic of faith, although I prefer to use the term trust rather than faith. The question is to what extent we trust God, whom we worship, when things get tough? It is my own experience that things do and will get tough from time to time, where circumstances occur that cause discomfort in one way or another – our life experience doesn’t always go the way we expect, want, or hope. We may even look ahead with scepticism when everything seems to be on an even keel and going well, anticipating that this can’t last for long. And maybe we shouldn’t expect this … that is, if we want God to take us deeper into his will and purpose for us. Perhaps we should anticipate challenges, seeing them as opportunities to deepen our walk with God; to learn to trust him more. But, if we are to do this, then we certainly need to see our journey of faith from God’s perspective.
Reality
There is an expression suggesting that someone is too heavenly-minded to be of any earthly use. This isn’t what I am suggesting. In fact, I believe that it is imperative that as Christians, we are solidly grounded in reality. I once heard it stated that it is important for the Christian minister to be someone who has good practical skills. The idea being that this demonstrates that they are realistic and capable of working effectively at the human level, which implies a comparable reliability and practicality when it comes to spiritual matters. As someone who is very practical myself, I have no problem with that idea, but I have come across others who are the opposite and do have! In any case, we do need to see our Christian lives realistically – the question is, whose reality? Will this be God’s reality or one that is earth-bound?
Struggle
God has demonstrated, throughout the Bible, that he is very mindful of the human condition. He who created everything is more practical than anyone! But, more than that, he knows what we have to contend with and is mindful of this in his dealings with us; he understands and cares (Psalm 103:13,14). Jesus even came to earth and experienced the human condition first-hand (Hebrews 4:15,16; Matthew 9:36), and the Holy Spirit dwells with us now as we navigate life’s journey – he is our advocate, comforter and guide. We have every reason to trust that God understands how things are for us. However, we need to appreciate that our ultimate home isn’t here, and whilst we remain here, we need to appreciate our existence in terms of the spiritual realities, rather than earthly ones. As long as our thinking remains earth-bound, we will struggle.
Transformed
This brings us to a key verse that many Christians are very familiar with:
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2
We should do more than lift our vision, looking up, because by definition, that maintains our earthly perspective, an earthly viewpoint. We need to understand things from God’s viewpoint, from his perspective. This entails reminding ourselves who he is, which we tend to do through worship. It entails regular communion with him, which we do through listening prayer. And it entails making full use of the testimony that he has left us, the Bible, feeding on this regularly and listening to what the Spirit of God has to say to us as we read.
As long as our thinking and understanding remain earth-bound, we will struggle. Let’s get on board with God’s viewpoint and see things from his perspective.
.
Please use the Leave a Reply form below to subscribe to receive weekly email notifications and links to the latest BLOG topic. Include “SUBSCRIBE” in the Comment field.
.
One Comment on “What is your viewpoint?”
I’m blessed by the teaching.
It is the sincere truth, “our perspective often defines our faith.”