Perspective and contrast are what God gives us by His will.
When our priorities and motives aren’t aligned with biblical principles, our perspective is skewed and we don’t get the results we desire—truly desire.
We may get Earth results, but discover it is hollow, empty.
When we have priorities in biblical order and the right motives—doing things for the right reasons—God is gracious and merciful to give us perspective.
Perspective gives us the ability to recognize contrast.
My Signature Dish
Willingness
Priorities
Motives
Perspective
Contrast
Over a period of 8 years, God gave me my “signature dish.” It took time, he didn’t lay it on me all at once. It was a process, and he actually gave it in reverse order.
When I first came (or came back) to Christ, when I really started seeking Him, investing time, effort, energy, money, and resources into finding out about Him and earnestly building a relationship with Him, the first thing He revealed was contrast.
Humans require contrast. We don’t recognize–don’t have the ability to recognize–without contrast. This applies to tangible and intangible things. We don’t know good without bad. We don’t know blue without other colors, and we don’t recognize dark without the Light, spiritually speaking.
This is why those who know Jesus, and are saved, are so frustrated with the lost that do not know that they are lost. There is a stark contrast between Believers and non-believers. Believers recognize it, the lost do not.
The contrast allowed God to give me a different perspective. Believer see things differently; and God gives us the different ways of seeing things. Prime example, when the world seems to go crazy–like the social and political climates in the US starting most notably in 2020–believers have a different outlook. It is frustrating to see the decline of the nation, but it isn’t a giant surprise, nor is it all gloom and doom. Jesus is coming! But I digress…
Notice that God gave me these two things, and gave me the ability to recognize them, and know He gave them. I was fascinated. I couldn’t get enough. I went to every church service on Sunday and any Bible studies during the week. I listened only to Christian radio. I immersed myself in Christian culture. The more I learned, the more I didn’t know.
The more I didn’t know, the more I wanted to know. I made God, getting to know Him, a priority. I invested my most precious resource—my time–into our relationship. I did all the works I could manage. I fellowshipped with believers as often as I could. I did “the things,” but my relationship with Him really deepened when I made alone time with Him a priority.
My motives may have been selfish at first. I was so miserable with my earthly life. I was looking, searching for something to make me feel better. Over a few years, my motives moved more to doing God’s will, trusting Him, over what was going to give me the most earthly benefit.
As my priorities were put in proper order and my motives changed, my circumstances changed. My whole life and lifestyle changed. It wasn’t what I expected it to be, it was better than expected!
Not only did I have earthly satisfaction and fulfillment, I was being nourished mentally and spiritually! This is something that lost people cannot grasp. People seeking earthly fulfillment are missing the boat entirely. ( I looked for 20 plus years).
Eight years into my Christian journey, God gave me the last ingredient of my signature dish: willingness. For someone to accept Christ, the gift of Salvation and eternal life (and all the friends benefits it has), one must be willing. Willing to be wrong, willing to not have all the answers. Willing to put God and His will first, even if it makes them uncomfortable.
The end result, the five factors that have bearing on most everything: willingness, priorities, motives, perspective, contrast. Look at most any story in the Bible or life and these factors apply.
