It’s All in How You Look at it

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us

an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV)

Maria Aristidou was working on a commission one day, using watercolors, when she spilled her coffee onto the canvas. A terrible accident and a waste of time and product, you might think. But as Maria stared at the soiled picture, an idea began to germinate in her mind. Rather than tossing out the canvas, she used the coffee and coffee grounds to create a different sort of painting. Her work is now entirely made from coffee and coffee grounds and has become famous in the art world. A spill turned into a piece of art.

Isn’t that what God has been doing since the dawn of time? He takes hopeless situations and redeems our loss, transforming our lives into something much more beautiful than we could ever have imagined. Though we may be tempted to look at the bad rather than try to find the good in less-than-ideal situations, God sees the potential.

My special-needs son attended a Christian camp. One of his favorite takeaways, besides the wonderful memories of fishing and swimming, is a purple T-shirt. Looking at it right-side up, it reads, “For the wages of sin is death.” When you turn the shirt upside down, the lettering says, “But the gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23).

Perspective; it’s the difference between what our eyes perceive and what God sees from an eternal viewpoint. We see the bad news; the wages of sin is death. Yet from God’s view, there is a wonderful promise that wipes the bad news clean off the slate; the gift of God is eternal life.

Likewise, our seemingly great trials are, from God’s perspective, merely light and momentary stepping stones towards an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. It’s all in how you look at it.

Thought: “From this side of glory we see the tapestry from underneath, and it is full of knots and twisted threads and frayed ends that lack meaning and beauty. From God’s perspective, it is all under control.” – Charles Swindoll