As Christians, we are called to view the world through the lens of Jesus Christ. It can be easy to focus on the negative aspects of the world – if we think of all that is spewed out on social media, we can get sucked into that darkness and forget to celebrate the good.
When we change the lens we see the world and others through – we see the same perimeter of the problem but from a different perspective – when we look at life through the eyes of our Saviour, we can see things from a different perspective. We can learn to celebrate the beauty and goodness that surrounds us – to see light in the darkness – to see how to reframe obstacles into opportunities.
In John 16:33, Jesus reminds us, “In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” In other words, Jesus acknowledges that there will be difficulties and challenges in this life, but He also reminds us that He has already conquered them. We take comfort in that and know that God is in control – He reigns over all the cosmos! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!!!
Last week we watched a Ted Talk by Dewitt Jones about celebrating what is good in the world. He is a photographer for National Geographic and so his talk was based through lenses and reframing etc – a great clip to watch!
He spoke about missing the opportunity to engage with dandelions in a field. He felt the lighting wasn’t quite right, and would come back the next day to photograph…. Well as he says and we all know – life happens……. And when he went back to capture the beautiful field of yellow dandelions they had changed to puffballs!
It took Dewitt a moment to realise that he could find the beauty in the puffballs as well and took the most phenomenal photograph of one.
It was truly remarkable and really made me realise that often a situation or challenge we are going through which seems hopeless or daunting – when reframed and looked at through the eyes of Jesus – things change. When we look at things from a different perspective we may just see an opportunity that wasn’t visible before.
And never forget that God is in control – He is still on the throne! He sees and knows the bigger picture – the end result.
Take a look at this time-lapse video. Originally published in 2010 by renowned UK photographer Neil Bromhall, in which the life cycle of a dandelion over the course of a month is illustrated.
Think back to Joseph sold by his brothers into slavery and how the story ended. Read it again in Genesis from chapter 37.
The world can seem overwhelming and full of darkness, but it is important to remember that God’s love shines bright and brings light to the darkest corners of the world. We can be a beacon of that light by focusing on the good and spreading kindness and love wherever we go.
As we go about our day to day lives let us see each other and the world around us from the perspective of what Jesus would see – look through His eyes and be inspired to look for and celebrate the good.
And always remember – even if you want dandelions but you get puffballs – God has you covered.
Much love
Michelle