The Bigger Picture
Leith Anderson, a minister, shared this experience: As a boy, he grew up
outside of New York City and was an avid fan of the old Brooklyn Dodgers. One
day his father took him to a World Series game between the Dodgers and the
Yankees. He was so excited, and he just knew the Dodgers would trounce the
Yankees. Unfortunately, the Dodgers never got on base, and his excitement was
shattered.
Years later, he was engrossed in a conversation with a man who was a walking
sports almanac. Leith told him about the first major league game he attended and
added, "It was such a disappointment. I was a Dodger fan and the Dodgers never
got on base." The man said, "You were there? You were at the game when Don
Larsen pitched the first perfect game in all of World Series history?"
Leith replied, ''Yeah, but uh, we lost." He then realized that he had been so
caught up in his team's defeat that he missed out on the fact that he was a
witness to a far greater page of history.
I wonder how often the same thing happens to us. We get so caught up in the
"defeats" in our lives, the times when things don't turn out the way we want
them to. So we're depressed because an illness continues to linger, or when
people don't treat us the way we think they ought to, or when we face financial
difficulties.
But we are often so blinded by the pain and disappointment of our "defeat" that
we fail to appreciate the fact that we might be witness to something far greater
that God is doing in our lives.
Remember when Paul was in prison? He wrote to the Philippian Christians, "But I
want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually
turned out for the furtherance of the gospel." (Phil. 1:12)
While most of us would have focused on the "defeat" (being in prison even though
he was innocent), Paul was able to see what God was doing in his life. It's not
an easy thing to do. It's never easy to view things from a heavenly perspective
rather than an earthly one, but it is especially difficult in the midst of pain
and defeat. But it is learning how to have a heavenly view that helps us to know
joy no matter what happens in our lives.
Alan Smith alansmith.servant@gmail.com