PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

July 9, 2023

PERSPECTIVE

Diane and I took the Canadian route home from our pilgrimage to the Gamache country of Quebec Canada.  One of the reasons we did is that we wanted to stop in Niagara Falls, Ontario, to see the falls from the Canadian side.  Twelve years ago we had seen them from the American and had taken a tour and the boat ride.

Several persons have asked me which side I liked better.  My answer has been “Neither.”  Each view gives a different perspective on the falls which taken together help to give a more complete picture of them.  It would be nice to have a view from above to complete the picture.

The American falls runs parallel to the border.  Consequently, from the American side you can only see them from the side.  From the Canadian side you can view the American falls head on.  The Canadian falls run perpendicular to the border.  Therefore, you can see the Canadian falls head on from both the American and the Canadian sides.  However, from the Canadian side you get a much better view of the water rushing to run over.

When I graduated from Purdue University I applied to seminaries that were not in the Midwest.  I was accepted at one in Boston and one in Dallas.  I was looking for schools that might give me a different perspective on the world and the issues facing the church.  My first year at Perkins School of Theology which is located at Southern Methodist University, I met my wife who is from Mississippi.  Therefore, I not only obtained a seminary education but gained perspectives of the world from a southern and southwestern point of view.

In processing information it is easy to fall into the trap of “repetitive thinking.”  By this I mean we fit our experience into tried and true categories that have served us well in the past.  Unfortunately, when something novel happens it gets squeezed into the old try and true categories.  For the most part this does no serious harm; however, when it is a doctor who misdiagnosis an illness the results can be horrific.   This is why in critical situations it is important to have a fresh set of eyes look at what is happening from a different perspective.

In the 16^th chapter of I Samuel the Lord sends Samuel to visit Jesse to select from among his sons the future king of Israel.  His first choices are rejected by the Lord.  It is only when he gets to the youngest son who outwardly would seem to have the least to recommend him to be king that Samuel finds the Lord’s choice.  When Eliab was before him, the Lord told Samuel “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, but I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (I Samuel 16:7).”  The Lord instructs Samuel to look on Jesse’s sons from His perspective not from the perspective of mortals.

In evaluating any situation it is important to get as many perspectives as possible.  In some cases, they will provide a fuller picture such as the example of Niagara Falls.  In other cases, they can provide additional ways of seeing things such as my choice of seminaries.  In yet other cases, they can provide a fresh set of eyes which will provide a much needed corrective.   In still other cases, they can help us make the right choice as was seen in the example of Jesse anointing the future king of Israel.