Changing Your Perspective

Our Shared Journey

I am a spiritual man who just happens to have a natural body.

That is my perspective. I would like to invite you to consider making it yours.

Why would you want to do that?

Well, let me explain.

When I awaken in the morning, it is perfectly natural for me to say, “God, I love You.”

Perhaps that sounds a little sappy. After all, isn't the first thing on your mind when you awaken something more practical? Like needing to go to the bathroom?

Not necessarily.

You see, from the moment we enter this world, nearly everything we learn concerns our physical existence. We learn to breathe, eat, walk, speak, and satisfy the demands of this remarkable body. We discover hunger, pain, pleasure, fear, and desire. Our senses introduce us to a world that seems to be everything there is.

For much of our lives, we accept that perspective without question.

Yet something extraordinary has happened to those of us who belong to Christ.

We have become partakers of a Kingdom that is eternal. We have been given life that does not begin when this body dies. Eternal life is already ours.

Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” — John 17:3 (ESV)

Notice that He describes eternal life in terms of knowing Him.

That changes the way I think about everything.

If I already possess eternal life, why would I continue living as though my natural circumstances define my existence? Why would I allow the temporary things I can see to dominate my thoughts while paying so little attention to the eternal reality in which I already participate?

Paul wrote:

“For the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” — 2 Corinthians 4:18 (KJV)

Think about that for a moment.

The eternal isn't simply something waiting for me after death. I already belong to it. I am already a citizen of God's Kingdom, even while I continue living here in this natural body.

My physical senses report what is happening around me. They tell me when I am hungry, tired, uncomfortable, or in pain. They alert me to responsibilities that require attention. There is nothing wrong with any of that. God gave me this wonderful body, and I am grateful for it.

But my senses cannot tell me everything about the life I am living.

They cannot measure communion with God. They cannot reveal the full extent of His purposes, or explain the spiritual reality in which I have already been invited to participate.

For that, I must learn to give my attention to Him.

I believe God created mankind originally embodied, able to live in communion with Him at the intersection of the physical and spiritual realms. Our present mortal condition does not resemble that original existence in its fullness. Yet in Christ I see what humanity is being restored to become.

And while I look forward to being clothed with the resurrected life He now possesses, I do not have to wait until then to begin living in fellowship with Him.

I can know Him now.

That brings me to something very practical.

What occupies your thoughts when you awaken?

For many people, the demands of the day begin almost immediately. We think about appointments, responsibilities, difficulties, unfinished work, and the countless things requiring our attention.

I have those things too.

But I have discovered that I can begin somewhere else.

“God, I love You.”

Those words are not a ritual. They are the natural expression of a relationship that continues whether I am awake or asleep, busy or resting, joyful or troubled.

I do not need to arrange an appointment to speak with Him. I do not need to enter a particular building or wait for some extraordinary spiritual occasion.

He is already present.

The more I become accustomed to acknowledging that relationship, the more naturally it becomes part of everything I do.

I can speak with Him while working, driving, walking, or sitting quietly. I can bring Him my questions, my gratitude, my confusion, and even those moments when I have no idea what to say.

I can learn what pleases Him. I can become more familiar with His Word, recognize where my thinking differs from His, and allow Him to change my understanding.

This is not a technique for manufacturing spiritual experiences.

It is learning to live in a relationship that already exists.

Consider how differently we might approach our lives if we genuinely understood that.

Our circumstances would still matter, but they would no longer be the whole story. Our bodies would still require care, our responsibilities would still need attention, and difficulties would not simply disappear.

Yet through all of it, we could remain conscious that we belong to an eternal Kingdom and that our lives are being shaped by its King.

I want to become like Him.

Not merely to know more facts about Jesus, or become more accomplished at religious activities, but to know Him so intimately that His character increasingly becomes evident in the way I think, speak, respond, and live.

That is what I am seeking.

I am a spiritual man who just happens to have a natural body.

I am already living in eternity, although I have not yet experienced everything God has promised.

So here is my invitation to you.

Change your perspective.

You have spent much of your life looking at eternity through the narrow window of your natural existence.

What might happen if you began looking at your natural existence from the perspective of eternity?

What if, instead of treating your relationship with God as one part of your life, you began recognizing that every part of your life takes place within that relationship?

Perhaps tomorrow morning, before the ordinary demands of the day begin, you might simply say:

“God, I love You.”

Then spend the rest of the day learning what it means to live as someone who already belongs to Him.