Whose Point of View
Psalm 37:30 – The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.
The greatest jolt for a reader is to be absorbed into a story, sensing the urgency of the dangers, feeling the onset of emotions, being carried away by the events, when all of a sudden, the story abruptly shifts focus from one character’s point of view into another’s. With this one mistake, a sense of betrayal creeps in for the reader and the world the writer so carefully crafted crumbles.
I’m embarrassed to say I’ve made this mistake plenty of times while writing. When caught early, it’s an easy fix and no one even needs to know. The delete key becomes a valuable asset that quickly erases my failures so I can continue on to make a believable world for my readers to enjoy. However, how is this played out in our real lives?
People are reading the story of our lives whether we are aware of it or not. Because the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6) Isn’t it God’s point of view in which we need to write our story?
What happens when we say we are Christians, yet constantly yank the storyline back to the world’s point of view? We say we have faith, yet won’t put our house up for sale in this tough market to downsize. We say we are willing to make sacrifices, yet eating out, extra clothes, and recreation are our priority. We say we want to be used by God, but would never consider moving overseas to live among those who need to experience the love and mercy of Christ. And the list continues.
Outsiders desperately seek to be drawn into a world full of knowledge and understanding, but I fear, they often leave disheartened and frustrated over the Christian lives they watch. They’re tired of being yanked from one viewpoint to the next and won’t stick around to see the ending. The world needs to see Christians living authentically who are grounded in the viewpoint of God.
Will you be that one?
Dear God, please pour your wisdom into me so that I can be an open book for people to read. May I remain in your point of view so others can be drawn to your story. Amen.
