Putting it into Perspective

I'm the type of person who likes mind illusions. Above is one of my favorites. Do you see an hourglass or 2 faces. It's all in how you look at it. I instantly see the hour glass in this one because of the contrast between the white and black. Where as in the one below I see the faces first.

It's all about perspective. The service yesterday Pastor Steven was talking about perspective from John 20. This section of scripture comes right after the death and burial of Jesus. Peter and the "other disciple" were running to the tomb where Jesus had been reported missing. The one who arrived first looked in the tomb but stayed outside. Even though he arrived first he didn't go in. The other ran straight in and started investigating the crime scene. 

They both could see that the tomb was empty, but they had different perspectives because they were in different levels of investigation. This is how we are in life. We have a decision to either view our circumstances as experiences or an event. Steven used the word traumatic. There was a study done with children who had experienced traumatic situations in their lives. They viewed their outcomes as they grew. The children who experienced these terrible things were very courageous and strong. Successful. From the outside looking in, people would think these children would be completely shattered and hurt individuals. But they weren't.

Anything that you are facing is the same way. Let me show you in a different way. STORY TIME. A single mother loses her job. After 2 weeks of no income she finds a job, with less pay. Feeling blessed to have another job she continues on with her life. From first glance you might wonder how in the world she was able to care for her child and keep her living arrangements. You become amazed at her strength and dedication throughout this whole process. That's just looking on the surface. After a little 'investigating' you could see the whole story.

She loses her job due to lay offs and instantly calls her landlord, who gives her a month free rent. She calls her friend to pray for her to quickly find a replacement position to be able to provide. Her friend, who goes to church with her, calls the church to add it to the prayer list. Instantly her Sunday School class gets together to buy groceries for her AND pays her utilities for the next month. They make sure they call their friends to see if there is anyone hiring that they know of that would be enough income to keep her housing and provide. 

In this situation this mother could have seen it as an event that shook her faith and broke her to the core. She chose to see it as an experience to make her stronger. All of us are facing things that could 'make or break' us. It's all in our perspective. We either see complete defeat or a chance to grow. Or maybe you aren't a christian and you have spent your life sitting on the outside of the tomb and wondering about whats going on inside. I encourage you to stop sitting on the outside looking in and come on in. See what God can do for and through you. Why spend your life wondering 'what if', and start living your life in the "I did."