Climbing and descending stairs is a growing challenge for our old dog. She stands and stares for awhile summoning the resources to make the trip. Wanting to understand the challenge I decided to ascend and descend from her point of view. Climbing up was easy. Going down stairs on all fours face first is a major adventure. If you never have done it give it a try and report back to me. I doubt if I will ever do it again. Once is enough. It is a whole new perspective.
Perspective is very important. I had a person report to me that he always told things the way they are. I had to smile because no one tells things the way they are. We can only tell things from our perspective. Five people will leave a room with five different stories about what happened in that room. Each is telling the truth experienced through their senses. What I have discovered is the person who claims to tell things as they are is usually a rude person who wants to bully others with what they think is truth. Patient politeness is often a missing gift.
We have four gospel accounts for a reason. God wanted us to see the life of Jesus through the senses of four different people. Somewhere in the consensus there is reality. I am fascinated to note how much smarter I was thirty years ago. These days I am much more leery of certainty. How often have we seen people speak with great authority about things they neither saw nor heard because they were not there?
After saying all of this I must tell you what I do know and I say it with great authority. Jesus loves you very much.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 28, 2009
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org