A God's Eye View

A view from the Marriott in Waikiki.

As I write this, I'm in another hotel room....kind of up high.  I'm not as high as the picture from the balcony in Waikiki that I've posted above, but high enough to get a nice view of a golf course and a nearby lake.  It' beautiful!  I love great views!  The view from the balcony in Waikiki is a favorite of mine, but it's also a reminder of when I discovered my fear of heights.  You can see from the picture how the balconies sort of wrap around...well...I couldn't stand to be out there more than just a couple of minutes at a time before an unreasonable and unwelcome fear of falling would come over me.  I even tried sitting down so my shoulders were below the railing, but to no avail.  I had to go skulking back inside.  This was new to me.  I'd never experienced it before.

Being up high, if you can stand to do it, can give you a whole new perspective on things.  Things that seem so huge and so important when you are at ground level become small and insignificant when you're looking down from above.  Take another look at the picture.  See those tiny little cars?  How about those people walking on the sidewalk?  The aerial view can also let you see how things interact.  You can see how the traffic flows from street to street in relation to each other street.  You can see the ebb and flow of foot traffic.  There is so much detail visible to you from above that you just cannot see when you are standing in the middle of it.

Do you ever wonder what God sees from his perch in the heavens?

There is a street in Owensboro, Kentucky that I travel down from time to time.  It is a street that isn't all that different from many other streets all over the country...or the world.  There are businesses.  There are cars.  There are people.  And, there are churches.  In one short stretch of maybe a quarter of a mile, there is a Catholic Church, a Church of Christ, and a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  They are all just next door to one another.

I imagine that week after week those folks drive in and out of their church driveways, passing right past one another...over and over again....and likely they don't give one another the time of day.  There is too much DIFFERENCE between them despite how close they are to one another.  (Of course, I have no first hand knowledge that this is the case.  I'm imagining the scenario based on personal observations of other places and other people.)

I wonder if they ever even take the time to even wave at each other? 

Now, consider this from God's perspective.

He's looking down from above.  He sees them go in and out, week after week...never speaking...never interacting.  Does He wonder why his children can't get along?  Does He turn to Jesus and say something like: "I wish they'd at least talk to each other!"

I suppose I have a fear of the heights of God's perspective too.  I'm afraid of what that view might reveal in myself.  How often do I let my differences drive me to disregard or disrespect my brother or sister in the worldwide family of humanity that God created?  Do I disregard and disrespect them because I disagree with them?

Take a few minutes and think about what our petty squabbles must look like from God's balcony.

You might say, "These differences are NOT petty!  They are real and important and huge!"

I'm sure that's true from the perspective here on the ground.  But....try....for just a short little while....to consider that the perspective from heaven might make things look a little more insignificant than you and I may think.

And, then wonder what could happen if those three churches in Owensboro held a huge, joint pitch-in dinner some Sunday afternoon....and at least talked to one another.