Tag: perspective

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Ecclesiastes Devotionals

If God is not at the center…

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes can be a very depressing book. But the key to it can be found in this one expression: “If God is at the center of our lives…”

If God is at the center of our lives, all our work has meaning, because through it, we give glory to him (Colossians 3:17, 23-24).

If work itself is the center of our lives, we will ultimately look back and ask, “What have I really achieved?” (Ecclesiastes 1:3)

If God is at the center of our lives, we can look at creation and stand in wonder at its design and its Creator (Psalm 19:1-6; Psalm 104).

When he’s not, we lose our wonder at what God has created. (Ecclesiastes 1:5-9)

If God is at the center of our lives, each day is a new adventure with Him. His goodness and faithfulness are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).

When he’s not, we enter each day with no joy, no expectation of anything good, just trying to make it through another day. (Ecclesiastes 1:8-11)

If God is at the center of our lives, there is always hope. We, in God’s wisdom, see all the things that are broken in this world, and yet we see that what people have broken, God can heal.

Without God, “wisdom” leads to despair. We see our limitations and realize how powerless we are to fix all that is broken in this world. (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18)

So as you read the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, always keep in mind the perspective he is expressing when speaking.

At times, he speaks as a man with God at the center of his life. At times, he doesn’t.  

When he doesn’t, and his words seem so pessimistic and discouraging, ask yourself, “How would Solomon’s words be different if he were speaking as a man with God at the center of his life?” 

More importantly, ask yourself, “How would my perspective be different if God were at the center of my life?”

Categories
Isaiah Devotionals

A little perspective

Isaiah

Isaiah 43 is definitely one of my favorite passages, especially verses 1-3.

But today verses 7 and 21 stand out to me.

God talks of Israel returning from Babylon, and in describing them, he says,

everyone who bears my name
and is created for my glory.
I have formed them; indeed, I have made them. (Isaiah 43:7)

And again,

The people I formed for myself
will declare my praise. (21)

I asked yesterday about who we tend to point to in our lives: Ourselves? Or Jesus?

And in this passage again, we see what perspective we should hold in life.

We bear God’s name. We were created for his glory. We were created for him.

Sin is essentially turning that perspective 180 degrees. We are concerned about our name. We live for our glory. We act as if we were created  to live for ourselves.

Repentance is all about turning our perspective back to where it belongs.

And so Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15,

For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If one died for all, then all died.

And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

What perspective do you live your life by?

Categories
2 Corinthians

A totally new perspective

2 Corinthians

When Paul came to Christ, he was granted a totally new perspective in life.

Prior to his salvation, he had been persecuting Christians, thinking that he was doing God a favor. But upon his salvation, he saw things in a whole new light, and he says as much in this passage.

We saw yesterday that when he saw Christ for who he truly was, and when he saw all that Christ had done for him on the cross and truly understood it, it changed his motivations for life. It caused him to fall in love with Christ.

He now saw Jesus in a totally new way, and not only Jesus, but everyone else. He wrote,

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:16)

Before he saw Christ as just a man. Probably as worse than a man, as a blasphemer and under God’s curse. But now he saw Christ as God’s perfect only Son, and his Savior.

Before he saw the Christians as a bunch of heretics. And he saw the Gentiles as a bunch of outsiders. But now he saw them in a totally different light, as people God loves.

In the same way, if we are Christians, not only should our view of Christ change, but so should our view of the people around us. We should not view them as the rest of the world does.

The world evaluates people by their beauty, by their intelligence, by their wealth, and by their overall attractiveness and lovability.

And if they lack these things, especially the latter two, we cast them aside.

But we forget something. In casting them aside, we cast aside people created in the image of God.

Yes, that image may be distorted, in some cases, badly. But they are still created in his image. And because of that God puts special value on them.

He put so much value on them that he sent Jesus to die for them, just as much as he sent Jesus to die for you.

How can we then despise them?

I have to admit, I struggle with this. There are some unlovable people in my life.

But they are not truly unlovable, because God loves them. And if I can’t love them, that points to a problem, not in them, but in me.

If I can’t see the image of God in them through the distortion, then there’s a problem with my spiritual eyes.

How about you? Are you struggling with “unlovable” people in your life.

Lord, you have made me a new creation. You have opened my eyes to who you really are. Now, I pray that you open my eyes to see people as you do. As people created in your image. As people not worth despising, but worthy of love.

Forgive me for my wrong attitude. I don’t want to be this way.

Change me. Give me new eyes. Give me your eyes. And teach me to love them as you do. In Jesus’ name, amen.