Finding Fresh Perspectives

 

Scripture

 Isaiah 1:18-20

¹⁸ “Come now, let us think about this together,” says the Lord. “Even though your sins are bright red, they will be as white as snow. Even though they are dark red, they will be like wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and obey, you will eat the best of the land. ²⁰ But if you are not willing and turn against Me, you will be destroyed by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.  (New Life Version)

Devotion

I am not known for being the world's most observant person.  Case in point: I have spent the past two years thinking that my church's garden included a strange concrete statue featuring an pedestal placed atop an inverted bowl.  The statue wasn't my cup of tea.  Still, I figured it was just a matter of taste and didn't ask anything about it.  My opinion changed when a member doing work in the garden said he had gotten the birdbath standing upright again.  "Birdbath?"  I thought.  "What birdbath?!"  It turns out that my strange "statue" was really an upside down birdbath.  It even has a child holding bunny rabbits in the center!  I just needed someone to give me a different perspective on it before I could see the birdbath for what it really was. 

The Bible is full of times in which people who started out very sure of themselves are given a fresh perspective that changes their minds about how to best follow God's ways.  Just before our Isaiah passage above, the prophet explains that while the people of Israel think God is pleased by all their ritual worship practices and burnt sacrifices,, the Almighty is actually is disgusted by the way they treat the most vulnerable members of their society.  The people think they are clean and holy, but from God's and Isaiah's perspective, their "hands are full of blood" (Isaiah 1:15).  Still, God is not done with the people yet.  Isaiah promises that if they just listen to reason and change ways, God will forgive them for what they have gotten so very wrong.

There are other such stories as well.  Job and his friends need to think things through together before he can get a fresh perspective on why bad things happen.  David needs Nathan to tell him that being a king and knowing how to cover things up won't mean that he can avoid the consequences for his sins against Uriah and Bathsheba.  Joseph and Mary need angels to come and tell them that everything will be okay.  Even Jesus himself benefits from getting a fresh perspective when the Gentile woman he just compared to a dog reminds him that even dogs get to benefit from the scraps that fall from the Master's table (Matthew 15:27).

Human beings tend to be pretty tunnel-visioned.  We can get so attached to our own narrow view of the world that it's hard to realize the error of our ways.   That is why Presbyterians believe that while God alone is the LORD of Conscience, we discern God's will best when we do so together.  When prayerfully talk things through together, the other voices and the fresh perspectives we encounter help us recognize our blind spots, consider issues we hadn't even realize were out there, ponder questions that hadn't occured to us before, and understand more about where the people we disagree with are coming from.  Together, all that can help open our eyes to a vision God's will...and open our hearts and minds to a better understanding of how to make that vision a reality.

Thinking things through with one another in order to get a fresh perspective doesn't mean that we always come to an agreement.  And it certainly doesn't mean that we will always get things right.  It does, however, give us a better chance at arriving at a more-correct understanding of God's will.   And when we still get things wrong, the Holy Spirit will use our willingness to keep offering our different perspectives with love that will eventually help us get things right.

My hope for all of us is that we are rarely so wrong that we make the spiritual equivalent of confusing an upside down birdbath for a weird statue.  Still, we will all have moment when our eyes need to be opened to the truth.  As we move forward in our ever-changing world, let us pray to encounter people who can give us fresh perspectives on God's will.  Let us also commit to sharing our own perspectives with kindness.  And may we continue to speak the truth as we see it in love as we continue doing our best to discern God's will together.

 

Prayer

Spirit Divine, as we come together to discern what you would have us do with our lives, open our eyes to your vision.  Open our ears to your Word.  Open our minds to your wisdom.  Open our hearts to your love.   Amen.