I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Revelation 22:13 (NIV)
In the movie “Arrival” a woman is given the ability to see her life, from beginning to end, the good and the bad. Interestingly, she decides she would not change any of it, not even the bad times.
I think if we could only see our own lives that way, from beginning to end, both the good and the bad, it would completely change our perspective. I believe the good would far outweigh the bad. And better yet, if we could fully see and grasp our eternal destination, these fleeting lives with the bad and good would seem a flicker, a mere spark of existence in the huge scheme of things.
This is why the Apostle could write under the influence of the Holy Spirit:
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17
Looking back over my life I can remember bad times, even months and entire years of suffering. Yet I can also remember my wedding day, the first time I held my baby daughter, family celebrations, nights out under the stars, mornings watching the sunrise. And Importantly, when I became born again, the day the Lord filled me with the Holy Spirit, the peace and love of God in my life.
It is easy to become laser focused on our pain during periods of suffering. Yet I am reminded of the line from “It’s A Wonderful Life” when Clarence said to George Bailey:
You see, George, you've really had a wonderful life. Don't you see what a mistake it would be to throw it away?
Life is not always wonderful. Indeed, sometimes it is downright painful and miserable. Yet when we look at the entire panorama, from our birth to our death, I suspect we will agree with Clarence the angel that: “you really had a wonderful life.”
This is even more true for the born again child of God, for even our best days down here cannot compare for the glory that awaits us in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus and the great destiny He has planned for us.
Prayer: Dear Lord, each day we have the chance for good or bad to occur in our lives. Help us not to get caught up in the minutia, but to stretch our perspective until it encompasses a view more like Your own and we can better appreciate the beginning, and the end. Amen.
Karlton Douglas
Copyright 2017
Karlton - thanks for this perspective. Life itself is a gift and we must never lose focus of that being from God. He also gifts us by helping us through the suffering times with his constant Presence. That we could have the "enthusiastic" joy that George Baily demonstrated in that film, once he realized how priceless his life was. We'd want to tell the whole world!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply Lynn! Very true. Sometimes we just need to change our perspective and take the long view.
DeleteBlessings.
Karlton