Recently I gave a writing assignment in a middle school classroom.  The prompt read: “The smell of smoke wakes you up. A fire has broken out in your home and you have only five minutes to escape.  Amidst the panic and confusion you rush to save your three most treasured possessions.  What do you take?  Why did you choose these?”  Many of the students responded as one would expect, first guaranteeing the safety of their family and pets, then looking for pictures, a phone, and so on… all expressing that they wanted these items to be kept with them.  One student, however, read the prompt and headed down an entirely different path.  His response:

“If I was in a fire and I had time to grab 3 loved things, I would grab a bucket, 

a large tub, and a hose, so we can put out the fire.”

For that student, who seemed troubled by the prompt when I assigned it, the response did not show an attachment to tangible things, but instead a determination to right the wrongs in his world.  

When we started the 2019-2020 school year, we spoke with the students about perspective. In fact, we handed many of them 3-D glasses we referred to as “perspectacles” and discussed how important it is to see things from God’s perspective.  Little did we realize the direction that 2020 would take us.  As we land in January of 2021, it’s a good time for another vision check.  How do you see the world right now?  Are you feeling like the situation around you is hopeless… like you are a victim of that fire which is going to destroy what you value?  Or are you like the student who is preparing to fight the fire… seeking solutions and doing what you can to improve the situation?  Hebrews 12:1-2 gives us some great advice concerning perspective:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Minds: 
Think about the things you value, both tangible and intangible.  What can you do to preserve those that are the most important or perhaps the most threatened?  Also consider the impact it would make if those things were actually destroyed… and determine how you can keep that from happening.  It may mean adjusting some priorities or rearranging your  schedule in order to make it happen, but determine how that could ultimately improve or secure the future.

Hearts: 
Fix your eyes on Jesus.  Pray for the ability to see things as He wants you to see them, and to give you the vision and insight to run this race so that you will have the greatest impact.