The Power of Perspective

During my university days, I used to 'break in' to the roof of the science library which was the tallest building in the area. Perched atop, I peered down to the hustle and bustle below: students rushing to and fro, cars cruising purposefully along the tree lined avenues. From that vantage point, I often wondered where everyone was going; engrossed in their lives, the details. It was a place where I took 'time out'; pondering about the big picture.

At street level, we rush about our lives in the busyness of it all, all the doing. Sometimes I find it helpful to 'go up on the roof' and get the broader perspective of things, as the details aren't often as important, when you see things from afar, removed from it all. It is the power of perspective.

I'm reminded of Rwanda

We've all been there. You experience something transcedant. You think it will change your life. But the glow fades, and the impact diminishes. Not Rwanda. I went there in July for Hope Rwanda's final week. That experience has shifted permanently the place from which I view the world. I'm quicker to consider others, am more eager to examine opportunities to build the lives of people that I may not even know. Because I've gained a deeper sense of humanity, and conviction of the global village.

Moral Conservatives, Socio-Political Radicals

Since that Ted Haggard story broke out, I've been checking out the response in the secular and christian world. It's been interesting to say the least. The world sees yet another high powered hypocrite. The church loses yet another soldier. Many have questioned why the church wants to set itself up as morally superior, considering the sins of biblical figures such as Adam, David, etc. But if we don't ATTEMPT to live morally superior by the grace of God, then what's the point. Sure we'll all fall now and again, and some of the consequences of sin will be devastating, but that doesn't mean we stop trying. Which leads me to this. I believe we are called to be moral conservatives BUT socio-political radicals. Jesus was a socio-political radicals. He railed against the Pharisees, but didn't want to bring down the Romans. Yet, some of his messages were interpreted as such. But he remained a moral conservative. But his ideas were revolutionary. So beyond the failures of Christians, prominent or not, we continue to fight, we continue to journey, we continue to live under grace, and speak the truth of Jesus, which is love.

wikipedia.org

As most or all of you may know, I have spent the better part of this year, NOT working. Not in the conventional sense of the world. I've done a lot of 'exploring'. While becoming expert at cooking, driving the school bus, assisting in extracurricular activities, I've also developed a fascination with wikipedia. http://wikipedia.org This is a free and comprehensive online encyclopedia created and updated by users, like you or me. Apparently it is much more accurate than Britannica. So when I am, say curious about string theory, I go to google and type in "string theory wiki", or I go to wikipedia directly. The definition of the topic is all there and there are links and launchpoints to all related and more in depth detail on the subject. You can wiki anything. Another wiki I discovered the other day is wikiquote.org. You guessed it. All quotes. Created and updated by users. So I truly have been learning something new everyday.