By: Gabriela Yareliz
What do I miss the most about Florida? Other than my family, the answer would be sunshine. That feeling of the warmth on your skin—that to me is priceless.
Now, as we begin 2013, I hope we will choose to have an eternal perspective. In other words, a perspective that revolves around that which is eternal. This is the perspective we need, if we plan to, by God’s grace, fulfill our course.
An eternal perspective, to me, is like a pair of sunglasses. Sunglasses: we wear them when it is so bright out we get a headache. We wear them, when things are just right, and it is a perfect day. And we even wear them when it is dark out, just to show what kind of person we want to be or who we want to be perceived as.
The thing about sunglasses is their tint can change the way you see things. Some make the world seem a different color, others make the world look darker, but I have a pair that makes everything look golden. The world looks different when I look through these. It looks better, perfect—the way it should, I suppose.
We just finished celebrating the first advent of Jesus Christ. I think one cannot just think of His birth without thinking of the whole purpose of why He came; this includes his death.
If we examine the chronology of events, and the important details, we can note that from the beginning, when humanity disobeyed and chose to move away from God, it was promised a Savior.
The people hoped the Savior would come immediately, but God, in His wisdom, allowed sin and their wrong choices to play out, so they could see the reality of what they had chosen; so, they would never want to make such a choice again.
The people became impatient and frustrated. As Ezekiel 12: 22 says, many were ready to say, “The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth.”
As their days grew darker and increasingly wicked, God laid out the prophecies of when the savior would come. Enoch professed the hope of His appearing, and Daniel’s prophecy revealed the exact time of His advent, Maranatha, pg. 9, Ellen G. White.
It would be through divine providence and orchestration that the savior would come. “When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His son.”
When Christ was born on the Earth and took human form, the people were blind with ignorance, and had sinfully neglected the study of the scriptures. It was night, and they had on dark sunglasses. Mary and Joseph arrived to the city of David and prophecy had foretold, and As Ellen G. White said, “ No doors are open to receive them.”
The angels were so excited to share this great news, yet were saddened that there was no one around in expectation, until they found a group of shepherds, who were examining the night sky and studying the prophecy in the scriptures. The wise men from the East, also had been studying. Neither group had it all figured out, but they knew who they were seeking and expecting.
The Jews, who had a king born among them, had different glasses on. They were expecting worldly greatness, and a worldly deliverer from the Roman Empire. That is still what they are waiting for.
Are we neglecting the signs of the times? Are our expectations right, and according to what has been revealed?
Note, prophecy has been given to mankind so man may prepare—yet look at the shepherds and the wise men of the East…some things may remain a mystery or not fully developed in our minds, but what is the most important thing?
We must have an idea of what we are expecting and who we seek, and act on it.
With glasses of eternal perspective, we do not see a carpenter, we see a king.
We are expecting a Savior who will not catapult any nation or church to greatness, but who will deliver us from our sin and eternal death. We are expecting a God who loved us so much, that He left His glory in heaven to be made man, who suffered and died for humanity. He rose again, so that on that day the dead too may rise in the name of Him who conquered death.
We are not expecting material prosperity or things that can burn, be destroyed or taken, but instead the prosperity of our souls. We are expecting life, because, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.” Job 19:25.
If this is what we are expecting, then we must keep on our golden glasses of eternal perspective and focus throughout 2013. If this is what we seek, then we must not seek comfort, convenience or conformity, but we must seek to be radically different.
“Let men see that with you, truth is not a jest, but an eternal reality. You are to deal with principles as you have never dealt with them before. Scatter the seeds of truth without a sparing hand. Sow beside all waters. Have no prescribed limits which you will not pass, but [work] with all the powers that God has given you. Then the people will know you as a man who believes the truth, and to whom truth is a reality.” The Upward Look, 18.6, January 4, Ellen G. White.
“If you lose heaven, you lose everything; if you gain heaven, you gain everything. Do not make a mistake in this matter, I implore you. Eternal interests are here involved.” Maranatha, pg. 10, January 5, Ellen G. White.
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GABRIELA YARELIZ 