A Little Perspective

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Our light affliction ... is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. --- 2 Corinthians 4:17

The Bible In One Year:
Nehemiah 10-11
Acts 4:1-22

A college student wrote a startling letter to her parents:

Dear Mom and Dad:
I have so much to tell you. Because of the fire in my room set by rioting students, I suffered lung damage and had to go to the hospital. While there, I fell in love with an orderly. Then I got arrested for my part in the riots. Anyway, I'm dropping out of school, getting married, and moving to Alaska.
Your loving daughter
PS: None of this really happened, but I did flunk a chemistry class, and I wanted you to keep it in perspective.

We might question this student's method of breaking bad news to her parents, but her approach highlights a truth: Proper perspective is essential.

When Paul encouraged the church in Corinth, he wrote a litany of his own very real trials and tribulations. To gain perspective, he shifted his focus to the eternal. "Our light affliction," he said, "is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" [2 Cor. 4:17].

In some ways, our perspective is more important than our experiences. Paul continued, "The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" [v.18]. Our sufferings will diminish in importance when compared to the glory that awaits us. --- Haddon Robinson

He promised no immunity from "chance";
Instead, a cross with adverse circumstance;
Yet we may toil with joy in all we do,
For life is brief --- eternity's in view. --- Gustafson

THE SUPREME NEED IN EVERY HOUR OF DIFFICULTY IS A VISION OF GOD. --- G.C. Morgan