Today's
Reading: Ezekiel 45-46; 1 John
2
Today's
Thoughts: Our Perspective Matters
The
righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are
taken away, while no one considers that the righteous is taken away
from evil. He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their
beds, each one walking in his uprightness. Isaiah
57:1-2
A
friend of ours went home to be with the Lord recently. God had
blessed her with a heart of wisdom as she served Him in ministry as
well as in the company of those in the world. We, as a church,
prayed fervently for her healing and for extended life but the Lord
took her home a few months after her diagnosis.
It
is difficult to understand why the Lord would want to take someone
home to be with Him when she was serving Him so faithfully and
fully here. Thinking in the earthly perspective, she was too young
to die, still had too much left she could do and was too much of a
godly model. When I think about her from this perspective, I am
stumbled by God's will and confused by God's ways. And I just want
her back. However, when I pull myself back enough to see it from an
eternal perspective, I am sincerely envious that I am not in the
presence of the Lord with her right now too. Our hearts should
groan for heaven even though our flesh refuses to accept death. The
dichotomy of life and death is a continual reminder that earth is
not our home. We are just passing through. The goal of each
Christian should be that our walk with Him doesn't change from here
to there. The place changes but not the relationship.
Our
perspective matters. If we chose to continually see things from
man's perspective, we will be discouraged and disappointed with the
Lord. If we choose to get into the Word and see life from His
perspective, we find joy peace and excitement by drawing closer to
Him. I am saddened by my loss of a sister in Christ but I am also
thankful that we will remain friends for eternity.
Oh
Lord, bring us home as dedicated and committed to You as our friend
was.
We
cordially invite you to our 2nd Annual Women's Retreat,
"Faith that Moves Mountains", Friday
March 18th to Sunday, March 20th, 2011. We are very excited and
would love for you to join us. For more information on how to
reserve your spot, click here.