Perspective

The race was on and it was a fight to the finish. Each athlete had trained for this momentous occasion in the water. The male S-1 category 500m backstroke swimmers had given it their all at the Tokyo 2020 (21) Olympics! Nevertheless, someone had to come in last place. As the cameras focused on the top-three medalists who were celebrating their individual victories, the last swimmer eventually touched the wall with half an arm. In the Paralympics, the S-1 category has the severest disabilities. These swimmers didn’t have legs, and some lacked an arm. Miraculously and courageously, the most disadvantaged swimmer of them all finished dead last with no legs, no arm on one side and only half of an arm on the other side to propel himself. Not a gold medalist this time but a fighter and an Olympian in everyone’s book. Tears of emotion and conviction welled up in me and, I imagine, in many others that day. Perspective.

My kids and I like to quote “the last shall be first and the first shall be last”(Matthew 20:16) whenever we come in last place. It comforts us when we “lose” to know that in God’s kingdom the humble and lowly are honored above the prideful and “successful.” It’s a perspective shift. The “losers” become winners. It wasn’t all for nothing, even when you walk away in last place.

Conversely, another paraolympian in Tokyo raced across the finish line, and it was GOLD for her! All that training, painstaking effort, and now the glory! Yet, her victory was unusual. The winner was cuffed to her “guide” who rejoiced, but her own eyes were tightly covered by a mask. This gold medalist was blind; can you imagine? Running is natural for those who see, but for her she raced practicing many leaps of faith! Perspective.

I just finished reading a book entitled, Losing My Voice to Find it by Mark Stuart from the band Audio Adrenaline. I was a fan back in the day when they came out with their album BLOOM in 1995 among many others. Christian rock was in full swing and I loved jamming out to all of them: DC Talk, Relient K, The Newsboys and of course Audio Adrenaline (listen to a powerful song about perspective that I posted at the end of this blog). I was stunned to only recently discover this book, about the life of the lead singer who ended up slowly losing his voice due to an incurable vocal disorder. At the pinnacle of his career he lost not only his musical voice, but his marriage. In that bitter season, nothing else mattered other than knowing that God was there in those dark, trying moments. Perspective OVERHAUL.

Do you have an eternal perspective each day, or is it just lip-service? Do you FIGHT to make your relationship with GOD a priority? I say fight because lately that is what it has been like for me! I have to tell myself with blinking lights and beeping noises going off in my brain: DO NOT CONTINUE or start the day WITHOUT spending time with JESUS! I’ve tried the, “I’ll do it right after this….” and then the endless interruptions arrive. I gain a brilliantly new perspective each morning that I spend with Him, each moment I surrender to knowing Him more! The fresh Word of God is given permission to rearrange my heart, my desires, and my priorities on a daily basis. I’m able to hear Him more clearly and follow Him more faithfully when I gain HIS perspective. Without His perspective, my own is at best futile and self-serving.

An example from my life: A little boy comes over asking to play, though riddled with emotional insecurities from an absent father and mother. Living with other relatives, he clings to my family as the home he doesn’t have, the home he’s missing out on. He needs gentle instruction and modeling on how to speak kindly and control his rage. On some days it’s easier to shut the door, but God’s compassion for him grows as I spend time in prayer. Loving “the least of these” isn’t always easy (Matthew 25:40), but it’s what Christ did and what He calls US to do. I must keep God’s perspective for others in my heart and life, applying it even when I desire to cling to familiarity and easy agendas.

I once heard a popular preacher say we shouldn’t hang out with “losers” because they can bring US down. That perspective is way off. It’s with the “losers” that Christ himself met with on a daily basis, had patience for, healed, and literally LOVED to DEATH. Our Christianity need not mirror the standards and methods of our society. When they reject, we should accept. When they hate, we should love and pray. When they give up, we never give in. OUR GOD IS GREATER, for HE transforms our PERSPECTIVE!

Remember the swimmer with the biggest physical disadvantage I mentioned at the beginning? He didn’t have to participate and train, but his perspective must not have been on his DISability but rather on his ABILITY to finish the race. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have put forth the effort in the first place. Where are you holding back in your life? Are you afraid of failure or judgment from others? Maybe you don’t feel like the perfect vessel to transmit to others God’s message of hope through Jesus. I imagine that swimmer had a million excuses for NOT participating, but nevertheless there he was. We, dear friends, have the GREATEST NEWS and most EXTRAVAGANT LOVE to pour out! Goodbye laundry list of “why I can’t” and HELLO “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!” (Philippians 4:13) May God’s PERSPECTIVE inspire COURAGE, STRENGTH, and LOVE back into us, reflecting humility and God’s image to this dying world.

TREES OF HOPE, my dear ones, representing God: His unconditional love and sacrifice for humanity. What an unpopular yet WORTHY perspective!