I am of the mind that perception is everything, that how we perceive things, and what we call attention to in our minds is essential and informs our very way of life. By that, I mean, we all live in the same world, and often, have similar experiences, and yet, our perception, which is informed by our life experience informs how we navigate those experiences. For example, we all have gotten hurt in life, by someone we love or maybe even someone we didn’t love and a series of factors in our lives determined how we grappled with that pain, and ultimately, who we became as people. The first time I was hurt and I mean, in a way that nearly destroyed me, I was 17 and the pain hit me like a ton of bricks, but now, at 22, I am eternally grateful for that pain because it brought me to God at a time where I can honestly say I did not know Him well enough for myself. It brought me clarity, it brought freedom and it made me who I am today. but that is my story. Everyone who experiences pain doesn’t necessarily have the response I did, but the only reason I was able to move past my pain or even get to a point where I am not ashamed or saddened by it is because of my faith. My perception and context is one of faith so anything I can do is with the distinct knowledge of who I am in Christ, and who God is in all His glory. It’s more than positive thinking, it is a blessed assurance, it is the wisdom I have garnered throughout my life, and it is what grounds me from day to day.
I bring this up, this idea of perception, context, and faith because I was having a conversation with someone who is under the impression that because of the decay of today’s world, there are certain things that we, as people, just shouldn’t expect or rather, should be realistic about. As if to say, I may have to lower my standards if, for example, I want to be in a relationship, and there are some compromises I have to make in order for that to happen. He told me I needed to “be realistic.” I’m sure he thought he was helping me, and he is not the first person to say this to me. But at this juncture in my life, I know not to give certain things and people credence because, in the same way, my perception is informed by my faith and by God, I was talking to someone whose perception is molded and shaped by the world, which we’ve already established is quite depraved and thus, a dangerous foundation. While everyone is entitled to their perception, it certainly does not make them right. In response to the urging that I need to be realistic, the only thing I will say, is that God always has a remnant (Romans 11:5), and what He has for me is for me, and there is no need to be realistic, when I have faith. Nevertheless, my hope is built, as the hymn says, on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. I say that to say that we, as Christians, do not serve God of limitations and we, as His children, are not limited in any form or fashion, but are in fact, free (Galatians 5:1).
We all live in this world, naturally, but we don’t have to succumb to its standards. Some people are living without hope and faith and don’t want anyone else to have those things either. But me? I am in this world, as Christ said, but I am not of it and I don’t live in a world of limitations and I certainly don’t believe in letting anything, especially other people, color my judgment or alter my perception, or reality for that matter. I live in a world where miracles are commonplace, where any pain I have experienced has been purposeful and has shaped me, where every time I’ve needed God, He has been in the midst, even when I didn’t even recognize it. My life itself is a testimony to God’s grace, His goodness and His love for me. My perception is not “realistic”, it is supernatural and limitless, as is my God. I serve a God who sacrificed who reincarnated His own Son for him to die for the sins of mankind (John 3:16). I serve God whose Son was able to feed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21). I serve a God who extends, daily to me, grace and new mercies and looks beyond my faults and sees only my needs. None of that is realistic, but it is fantastic. It is all a miracle, it is all a blessing and I challenge all of us, as God’s children, not to be realistic, but to have such an immense faith that we expect God to do the impossible because that is what He does.
