The Pastor’s Blog – PERSPECTIVE

There are at least two ways to look at this picture. On one hand, a person can see the leaves and think, “Yuck! Look at those leaves! There is a lot of work to be done! I must clean this up as soon as possible!” On the other hand, a person can say, “Look at those wonderful leaves! They will protect the roots of that bush, decompose, and become nutrients for the plants around. We are so blessed to have these leaves.”

Every single day we observe the world around us and decide how we will interpret the facts. Two people may see the exact same sunset, and one describe it as amazing, while the other says it was humdrum. It will depend on the filter through which these people viewed the sun setting. Same event, but two very different interpretations.

How we view the pandemic, the economy, the government, even our own circumstances can be so different. One sees everything as a disaster, a terrible hardship, an unfair restriction while the next person sees what is happening as opportunity, as a chance to try new things, a minor and temporary inconvenience. They both are reading the same headlines, experiencing the same restrictions, living in the same day but having two very different interpretations of what is happening.

It appears to me that the person who can find a positive spin to even the direst of circumstances will fair much better than the person who is all doom and gloom, living under a black cloud. Maybe this is what the Apostle John was getting at when he describes the doomsayers this way: “They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.” (1 John 4:5, NIV) Here the Apostle is speaking of the spirit of antichrist that is in the world, seeing the world not through the lens of hope that Jesus gives us, but through despair.

Personally, I believe Jesus came to rescue us, and I will therefore view the world through a lens that gives hope, peace and joy. I see the world through Christ! How about you?

– Pastor Gary

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