Altar
Call – Opelika-Auburn News
Walter
Albritton
January
29, 2017
Your perspective makes a huge
difference
The Apostle Paul, great missionary of
the first century, spent a good bit of time in jail. Then after several
missionary journeys planting churches, he spent his last days in a jail in Rome.
There it is believed he was executed by the Roman authorities. Had they been
asked, Paul’s Christian friends would have said that Paul was a prisoner of
Caesar.
Paul’s perspective was different. In
his letter to the Ephesians Paul said, “I am a prisoner of Christ Jesus because
of my preaching to you Gentiles.” In his mind Paul was not a prisoner of
Caesar; he was a prisoner of Jesus who was using his imprisonment to advance
the gospel.
Your point of view makes a huge
difference. How you see what is happening to you matters greatly. Take
suffering for example. A friend lost her husband after a year of heart-rending
suffering. Not once did I hear her complain about God allowing this to happen
to her husband. Instead she quietly explained to me how God had used her
husband’s suffering to strengthen her faith and the faith of her children.
How do you explain bad things happening to
good people? Our viewpoints can differ widely. One person may believe that God
does not have the power to prevent the suffering of the innocent. Another
person may believe that God allows such suffering for reasons that remain a
mystery to us. Your point of view makes a big difference because it determines
how you feel about God.
Are the events of our lives
happenchance or is there a plan being orchestrated by God? If I lose my job, I
can moan and groan about how I was mistreated and make myself miserable. Or I
can believe that God has a better plan for me and begin looking for doors that
God will open for me. Your perspective matters; it determines your state of
mind.
Perhaps the most well-known statement
by the Apostle Paul is found in his Letter to the Romans, verse 8:28. The NIV
translation is my favorite:
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of
those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
It makes a profound difference to believe that “in all
things” God is working for our good – even when we do not understand why
certain things are happening. I have chosen to believe that most of my life. I
believe it now more than ever, even when mysteries cloud my mind.
You
may view things differently. You are free to choose another point of view. But
one thing seems clear: your perspective determines whether your mind is filled
with peace and hope or dogged by fear and hopelessness. So I am asking a loving
God to help me choose daily perspectives that are healthy and hopeful. + + +