Perspective...it's a Choice

I remember many years ago watching my mom do cross stitch.  As a child, sitting there, seeing only the underside of the hoop I remember thinking to myself what a mess my mom was making.  She had used several different colors and the strands were just a hodge podge of a mess with, what appeared to me, to be no direction whatsoever.  It didn't look like anything and none of what I was seeing made any sense.  Ahhh, but then, mom told me to look at the hoop from her vantage point (the topside) and wow, when I did, what a difference that made.  Now, I was able to see the beautiful work mom was creating.  I remember that these projects took time and it was only when completely finished could the picture or design be truly appreciated for what it had become.  I am thankful for the simple lesson learned from watching mom do these cross stitch projects and that lesson is...PERSPECTIVE.

Perspective by definition is the state of one's ideas; the facts known to one, etc; the faculty of seeing all the relevant data; a mental view or prospect.  All of us have a perspective in life...how we choose to view the happenings in our lives; what we choose to believe as fact based on evidence; and the way we look at everything around us in general.  Basically, we choose to look at our lives in one of two ways: from the "underneath" side, the one that looks a mess all tangled with threads appearing to go nowhere and make no sense OR from the "topside", the one that shows how all those tangled pieces of thread come together to create a beautiful creation...a work of art; a masterpiece.  This is a perfect example of our lives.  Basically, we look at our lives and the things that happen from our viewpoint or from God's. 

 I love the verses found in  Psalms 18:30-32 which say, "As for God, his way is perfect; The word of the Lord is tried; He is a buckler to all those that trust in him.  For who is God save the Lord? It is God that girdeth me with strength, And maketh my way perfect."

Let's be real, in life, we are going to go through things that seem unbearable, unthinkable, unsalvageable, etc.   I think of so many in the Bible who experienced  less than desirable circumstances:  Joseph, Job, Daniel, Esther, Stephen, Paul, etc .    God records all of these life experiences to remind us to keep our perspective focused on Him.  All eyes on Jesus! This should literally be our daily cry.  

So, how can we keep our view fixed on Jesus?  Here are a few simple ways:

1.  Spend much time daily in the Word of God. 

  Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe todo according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

 Psalms 119:97, "O how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day."

2.  Spend time listening to the voice of God.

  Proverbs 4:10, "Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings! And the years of thy life shall be many."

  John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

3.  Spend time focused on others.

   Galations 6:22, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."

   Luke 10:33, "But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him."

Reality is that life will be filled with tangled strands, but when our perspective is to view those strands from God's view, then we can face what comes in life.  Will we choose daily to be positive or negative? Will we look for the good or always focus on the bad? Will we turn our eyes upon Jesus, realizing that His desire is to create a masterpiece out of our life for His good and His glory?  The choice is ours; but we must choose.  

I recently heard someone recite the following quote (sorry I don't know who originally said it):  

"Your perspective will either become your prison or your passport."  Wow! That is so true.  You can be bound by negativity or have freedom in Christ through a positive perspective.  

I still have a few of the projects mom made and they are beautiful to look at now that they are finished and I am viewing them from the proper perspective.  The same will be true as we come to the end of our Christian race and we see our lives as God saw them.  We will finally see the masterpiece He spent years to make.  Hang in there and remember to keep your eyes focused on Jesus!

Hebrews 12:2, "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."     So, how IS your perspective today?