It’s All About Perspective: Focusing on the Unseen Truth
It’s all about perspective.
I’ve heard this phrase countless times, and yet I often need to be reminded of its truth. When we encounter a difficult situation, we can choose to see things differently – through new eyes. If we would simply change our perspective, we can change how we feel about any given situation.
I’ve heard it said that we as Christians should see things from an eternal perspective. But what does that mean exactly? How do we go about seeing the world through “eternal” eyes?
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First, I’d like to point out what it doesn’t mean. In an effort to escape the pain and struggle of this life, it’s easy to focus on heaven and our eternity with Jesus. And we should look forward to the glorious hope we have of spending eternity with our heavenly Father! But it is possible to become so eternity-minded that you become no earthly good.
We were meant to be present in this life. God has amazing plans for us and divine encounters that He’s called us to fulfill. We all have people we were destined to reach, and conversations that were meant to be had. We don’t want to become so anxious to leave this life, that we don’t live it to the fullest.
Life on this planet is a gift. I’m not saying that it isn’t hard. And sometimes it can be downright painful. But through the pain and struggle, we get to experience God’s provision. We learn to trust Him, our faith grows, and we become more mature as children of God. Am I excited about heaven? You bet! (And that’s definitely an understatement!!) But I also know I have a purpose here in this life. And I want to be able to say that I fought the good fight and did all that God called me to do while I was here.
So now that we know what having an eternal perspective isn’t, let’s talk about what it is – seeing life through the eyes of our Father.
So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. – Colossians 3:1-2 (MSG)
As Christians, we have been given the mind of Christ. And for this reason, we strive to see His plan for our lives rather than the struggles we are currently facing. When we look at others, we make an effort to see them the way God sees them, with unconditional love. We see things from His perspective rather than our own.
Our lives are so busy and noisy that we often struggle to slow down and pay attention to what is really going on. We become so completely engrossed in our earthly tasks, that we fail to see what God is doing behind the scenes. Like the verse says, we need to look up and be alert. God is always working, always moving.
So as we strive to renew our minds, one of the best ways to do so is to make a conscious effort to slow down and change our perspective.
Focus on the unseen rather than the seen – see the world and our circumstances the way God sees them.
Maybe then we can experience the peace that comes along with knowing how much God cares for us and that He is always working things together for the good of those who love Him.
…while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:18
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*Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
**Photo by Rikki Chan on Unsplash
