Perspective

We’ve all heard the expression “glass half empty or glass half full” when trying to determine whether one is an optimist or pessimist. Honestly I think everyone is a little of both. We have our good days and our bad days. Isn’t it funny how you can hear news that gives you just a little bit of hope and your whole day turns around? For example, you’ve been trying to sell your house for months and you hear that someone looked at it today. In that instant your spirits pick up a bit and all seems to be right with the world. But the reverse is true as well. Everything is normal and then someone hacks into your bank account online and wipes you out. Your heart sinks and you think all is lost. In both cases not much has really changed. The person looking at the house is just looking and the wonderful people at the bank (did you sense the sarcasm there?) put all of the money back in 7-10 business days.

The only thing that changes many times is our perspective. Ultimately we can always look for silver linings in things and we can always find ways in which the grass would be greener on the other side. However, I think at the end of the day we have to realize what kind of perspective we have. It is helpful (though not always easy) to keep some semblance of an eternal perspective. In the end I won’t really care how many months it took my house to sell, how much interest I paid on debt that I owed, how many hours I sat in traffic coming home from work, or how many games the Rangers lost in 2007 (my prediction is 93). What will matter to me is did I love with fervor? Did I enjoy the unique moments in life that God gave me and did I do my best to honor him with them? And did I live my life with intentionality and passion? Because in the end this life is just blip on the radar screen of eternity. Hard to fully comprehend, but true nonetheless.

Correct Label?

There are many labels that people attach to themselves, but it can be difficult to ascertain whether these labels are correct. Words must continually be defined and redefined. There are many that label themselves as Christians, but you and I both know that not everyone who claims to be a Christ follower knows him. The same is true of those who label themselves as your friend. Today it seems that if you aren’t my enemy then you by default are my friend. However, I feel as though we need to give the word friend a better definition.

Friends can have discussions about more than just the latest (insert your favorite sport here) score or the latest episode of (insert your favorite TV show here) they watched last night. Friends can ask difficult questions and get honest answers. Friends continue to keep in contact with you even after you leave a church, job or any other place of common attendance. Friends are there to rebuke as well as encourage. Friends don’t mind going out of their way for you. Friends don’t hide behind masks. Friends drop everything when they are needed. Friends see your blind spots. Friends remember special occasions. Friends make up for the areas we are weak in. Friends are reliable. Friends aren’t shallow. Friends are there for times of laughter and times of sorrow, and they can pick up on both without a word being said. Friends are friends forever (ok that was meant to be a crack at the Michael W. Smith song, but it’s still true).

Ultimately “A friend loves at all times” and “No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life for his friends.”

How many of our friendships really look like this?