Perspective

Isaiah 55:7-9For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Perspective: Take a look at the picture below, does the picture look familiar to you?  I know you have seen this painting before, but  right now you are looking at a very small piece of the picture. 

If I were to show you the rest of the picture, you  would realize that you were looking at the hands from the painting of Mona Lisa.  While the hands are painted with very careful detail that still marvels painters today, if all you saw of Da Vinci’s famous painting was this small piece you would be missing out on the subtle beauty and enigmatic smile.

But, we do something very similar with the artwork of the Greatest Artist of all time.  When the chips fall and things get very tough, we can lose sight of the bigger picture and our focus narrows on our problems and circumstances.  It’s only human to focus on our problems during those times, I mean, look at Job who was a righteous man.  His children were killed, his livestock and wealth stolen, he was inflicted with a terrible disease, his wife told him it would be better for him to curse God and die, and his so-called friends were practically putting him on trial.  Job, while not cursing God, was wondering why all of this was happening to him.  And God answers him with this question, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?  Tell me, if you have understanding.  Who determined its measurements—surely you know!  Or who stretched the line upon it?” (Job 38:4-5).

The truth is the Earth belongs to the Lord and all things in it (Psalm 24:1), including our very own lives and existence, because He created it. We have a very finite view of things, at best, we may live to be just over 120.  That’s under 2% of the earth’s existence (if you use the genealogies listed from the time of Adam as a timeline = over 6,000 years) all things considering, it’s just a short amount of time. But God is infinite and sees all things from beginning to end because He is outside of time.  In other words, God sees the full picture of the masterpiece.  Our lives are just a tiny dot in comparison.

However, that does not mean you are insignificant to God, quite the contrary.  If even a tiny dot in the picture above were out of place, it would not be the same at all.  We all part of the Body of Christ, and we are all very important and we all serve a purpose.  Sometimes it is hard for us to see that purpose because we get this mindset that we need to be a pastor, or a missionary, or have some kind of title to be used in God’s kingdom.  This is simply not true.

There was a man named Edward Kimble, he was just an ordinary guy by all standards, but he felt a tugging on his heart to share his faith with a shoe salesman.  The shoe salesman’s name was D.L. Moody.  Of course, we all know that D.L. Moody became a great evangelist, but the story doesn’t end there.  A pastor, Fredrick B. Meyer heard Moody preach and was inspired to start a far reaching evangelism ministry.  Fredrick B. Meyer was preaching at an evangelism event, where a young college student by the name of Wilbur Chapman accepted Jesus.  Wilbur Chapman conducted his own evangelistic crusade and hired a baseball by the name of Billy Sunday.  Billy Sunday was himself a great evangelist.  Billy Sunday was holding an evangelical campaign in Charlotte, NC where he prayed that the area would have a great revival.  Billy Sunday’s prayer was answered when God sent an evangelist named Mordecai Hamm held a campaign in 1934.  The campaign went well; but there was one person of special notice who was in attendance.  This person’s life was so radically captivated by Jesus, he just had to preach.  He started out preaching to crocodiles, but would eventually preach to an alcoholic who was to become president.  This person of interest is none other than Billy Graham (and the president is George W. Bush) (http://www.treeoflifebiblechurch.org/shoesalesman.htm)

It was all because a seemingly insignificant person was faithful to God’s prompting to simply share his faith with a shoe salesman that set these events in motion.  But, there’s no way Edward Kimble could have known this at the time.  He only knew he had to share his faith with a shoe salesman.

You never know, maybe that person you helped out in a time of need may one day be able to help many more in a time of crisis.  Maybe that person you smiled at was ready to commit suicide, but a simple act of kindness changed their heart.  Maybe, that person you shared your faith in Christ with may lead hundreds to Christ.  You never know.