Whenever I travel by air, I love to sit in a window seat. That’s because I love being able to view how large cities look from the air. I love seeing tall buildings. At high altitudes, even skyscrapers look small.
How you see things in life is a function of where you view them from. For instance, a high-ranking executive sees a problem on the job differently from how those below him does. From his position, the executive has a unique perspective. Moreover, he has coping tools at his disposal that others don’t. Consider these words written by Paul the apostle:
“And [God] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:6, KJV
I am sure you would agree that earthly places pale in comparison to heavenly places. God’s glory and power and solutions to every problem in life reside in the latter place. When we sit in that place and live our life from that place, it should change the way we see every aspect of our life. In all things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us (Romans 8:37).
The problem, however, is that not every Christian lives as if he or she has been seated in heavenly places. True, our having been seated in heavenly places is incidental to being a Christian. God has made us to sit there. But leveraging the power of being seated there is not incidental to being a Christian.
For instance, I have learned that whenever I compare a challenge in my life to me and my human ability, that problem can look huge, even overwhelming. By contrast, that same problem becomes very small, when I view it through the eyes of my faith in Christ and in the power of God. In the latter scenario, I am looking at things from a more heavenly place.
How to Develop a Heavenly Perspective
God has blessed us with everything we need to develop a heavenly perspective on life. But realizing that end is not happenstance. Upon accepting Christ, our life must be transformed by the Word of God, by faith, and by the work of the Holy Spirit.
This transformation can occur only through spiritual growth, which we must be willing to pursue. For instance, Peter writes, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the world, that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2, KJV). The more we grow spiritually, the more our perspective on life will change.
The point is that we have been seated in heavenly places, so we should no longer view our life from a merely human perspective. If we do, we will confine ourselves to the earthly realm.
Paul the apostle puts it this way: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God…” (Galatians 2:20, NASB).
It is only when you die to yourself and live by faith in the Son of God that you can experience the heavenly realm. And living in the heavenly realm will change the way we see every aspect of your life.
How has your relationship with God and your faith in Christ changed your perspective on life?
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.