Perspective
People see things in different ways depending on their point of reference and preferences. Ronald likes Miracle Whip. I like mayo. He likes sweet tea (fake sugar). I like straight up, very strong tea. And the list goes on and on.
This is my neighbor, Debbie, with whom I have been walking most every day. During warm weather, even on the hottest days, I just glisten. I don’t sweat much for a fat girl.
However, when the weather turns a chilly 53 Degrees, I bundle up like an Eskimo! My Yankee friends would laugh and call me a sissy. My neighbors here call me brave for getting out in the frigid air. Northern outlook as opposed to the Southern – different as night and day! Neither is wrong. Just different.
You can’t tell from the picture, but I had on a fuzzy, hooded jacket under my heaviest winter coat. The crocheted piece around my neck kept my hood in place and kept me warm to boot! Even the scarf has a ‘perspective’ to it. To Mama who had crocheted it for her dresser, it was a doily. I repurposed it for my winter scarf. Either way, it worked.
I recently wrote a letter to someone and tried to explain one difference between the mindsets of men and women. Not really. I don’t have a clue what men think. I just know there are many times when perspective’s differences cause confusion and perhaps even friction in relationships.
But sometimes, opposite viewpoints can solve problems. Or puzzles!
Ronald and I are spending some of these cold days doing jigsaw puzzles. Bits and Pieces makes the strangest shaped pieces I’ve ever seen. The puzzles are colorful, but sometimes it is hard to tell what piece abuts another just by the object or its color. There’s where Ronald and I have a different perspective. As the pieces come together, I see the odd shapes and quickly find many pieces. I have tried to explain my reasoning and how I do it. He can’t look past the color matching process.
As we look at the Christmas story, I can think of many things people back then and through the ages have had a tough time understanding. Why was One who is the King of creation and everything else born to a couple from Galilee – one of the most poorly thought of places in Israel? Jesus was of the right lineage according to Scripture, but He was born to a virgin and a regular working guy. Hardly kingly credentials! I’m sure God had a reason for the difficult circumstances surrounding the actual birth. Would the inn keeper become too proud had he known the little mama needed a place to have the Son of God? Would he have made the place a tourist site? Why were the shepherds, some of the most despised of Jewish society, the first to receive the Good News of Jesus’ birth? Why was king Herod so determined to kill off the prophesied King? Apparently he didn’t understand the difference between his earthly kingdom and God’s spiritual Kingdom. None of the things listed fit into a ‘logical’ perspective.
To those then and those today who refuse to believe the Truth of God’s Scripture, their perspective is one of rejection, mockery, or indifference. Their perspective on the eternal things of God might change if they looked at things through God’s perspective.
Man thought and still think they do fine on their own, no matter what. God knew mankind needed more than some superhero. They needed a sinless sacrifice to cleanse them from sin. Man needed a Savior. Not One that fits our ‘perfectly reasonable’ perspective, but One who is Perfect. Belief in Jesus will insure our place in His heavenly Kingdom – for eternity.
And why all this? God’s love.
1 John 4:9-10 NLT. ‘God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.’
Think about it.
Blessings
Kara Beth
