Day Five: Seeing Life from God's Point of View

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The initial sentence of the chapter was very helpful: The way you see your life shapes your life. Very true. As complicated as life can be, I suppose there are many life metaphors that fit at different points, but some are probably more helpful than others. Seeing our life as a test and a trust are very helpful, more so than seeing life as a roller-coaster, or seeing life as a series of repeating, ascending circles.

I really liked this paragraph:

Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test. You are always being tested. God constantly watches your response to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment, and even the weather! He even watches the simplest actions such as when you open the door for others, when you pick up a piece of trash, or when you're polite toward a clerk or waitress.

And this one:

When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life. Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God. 

And another:

The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them. The Bible says, "God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out."

It was helpful to see life as a test, but also as a trust, that we are stewards of what God has given us.

Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to our care and management. We are stewards of whatever God gives us. This concept of stewardship begins with the recognition that God is the owner of everything and everyone on earth. The Bible says, "The world and all that is in it belong to the LORD; the earth and all who live on it are his"

Looking back over the past ten years, it is so clear how the decade was full of test after test after test. On this end of it, God has helped me pass those tests. Many of the tests were grueling, excruciatingly difficult, covering long-stretches of time and uncertainty. But here I am, on this end of them, and I've passed. Not that the tests are done, but rather, they set me up for even more difficult tests. Not because God is a irritable task-master, but because through these tests I've become stronger, wiser, gentler, and loyaler.

And the tests have helped refine the my usage of the gifts God has stewarded to me. The tests and the trusts go hand in hand. My wife is a gift. My daughter is a gift. My sons are a gift. The best gifts. They are often the primary source of my tests, but they are also my most important trust. My life with them is the arena where Jesus brings out the best in me, as well as give out the best through me.

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today?