In reading Ephesians, I am reminded of the true gift of salvation. That we in no way can earn or in anyway deserve it. It is by the grace of God only. When I first became a Christian, fourteen years ago, I was so conscious and thankful for this gift. I knew that I would never have found Christ; He found me.
Being that lost sheep that was outside of the herd, I am forever grateful that Christ came for me.
After a decade of faith, I worry that complacency has set in. My beliefs have not wavered. It is more of a subtle shift in prioritization or order.
During the first ten years of my life with Christ, that thankfulness was so great that I focused first on Christ and my relationship with him, and then on managing life in this world. I still often seek Him and seek guidance and help. I know everything comes from Him.
But there is this slight difference.
2 Different Lenses to Look From
The difference is…
waking up each day and seeing things from the world and then trying to run it through a God-view filter to act in a Godly way
compared to
waking up each day and thanking God for salvation and asking the Holy Spirit to guide my heart and actions throughout the day
Here is my analogy. Let’s say that every time your employee is late it infuriates you. You feel that the employee is stealing and lacks respect for you. You know reacting with anger won’t honor God, so you count to ten, and pray for peace. You bring yourself down from anger and then address the situation.
The other scenario is that you have God with you every waking minute. The Holy Spirit transforms you and you see every situation differently than you used to. You see the person who is late as someone in need. Instead of a thief, he is just a mess. Rather than disrespectful, he is recovering from his own disrespect. You approach the situation with grace, asking how you can help the employee get to work on time.
The second version comes from a God-view of the world.
I find myself in the first camp too often. Trying desperately to adjust my vision to a God view. I ask God for patience in the moment. I pray that I won’t respond inappropriately. I do ask the Holy Spirit to guide my words and actions.
It is just different.
It is different than seeing everything through the Holy Spirit’s view to begin with. Which I pray, of course, that everyone else who may be frustrated with me will do.
I only have my perspective on this, but I imagine that other people can feel the difference. I imagine that clients, family, friends, and my team can tell which view is in the driver’s seat. I have had both lenses at different times in my life.
I imagine that when I have my view and then filter it with what would Jesus do, the people in my life will be slightly confused. They will hear my words and see my actions. They may align with what God would want, but they feel something is off. Is the same sincerity present? Is there a distance between us? Is she just going through the motions?
Starting with a God-View
When I start with a God view, I enter every conversation, every situation without judgement. I see things from a different perspective. There is no tension between how I feel and what I say or do. It is harmony. It is the Holy Spirit. I know it isn’t me, because I am the first scenario.
But we all have the option to keep our God view.
We just have to give up our complacency. We have to be purposeful and seek God first.
To find my God-view lens….
- I focus back on Scripture and read about the nature of man and look at others with the thankfulness and humility of a redeemed sinner.
- I pray for the fruit of the Spirit, knowing that those fruits are also gifts of God and not my own character traits.
- I have to let go of worldly expectations and remind myself that the only true satisfaction is living for Christ.
And most importantly, I have to let go of my complacency, and stop taking for granted that Christ is always there waiting for me to look to Him first.
Thank you for your input on the right lens that we should be using at all times. Today the question arose in my spirit and I said to myself I will do a study on it then I decided to Google it and discovered yours. Thank you. God bless