In my quiet time recently I was reading in Acts 7. The passage gives the account of Stephen's being stoned. Before he was stoned it states that he looked up into the heavens and saw the heavens open and then saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. I believe this paints a picture for us of the Christian life. That is, when we are walking in step with God, being filled by His Spirit, God gives us to the capacity to have "divine viewpoint." No, we probably won't see the heavens open but we will be able to see beyond "human viewpoint."
To hold a biblical perspective on reality is to believe that there is more to reality than what meets the eye. In fact, what you don't see matters far more than what you do see. Jesus, speaking to doubting Thomas, said, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:29)
Paul writes, "For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18). It's not that the present universe isn't important. It is not even that our circumstances are not important. It's just that we need to be repeatedly reminded that all of the current physical creation "will perish," and that God "will change it like a robe," but the Lord and his people "will have no end." (Psalm 102:25-28)
One might compare it to one's computer. There is a lot one can physically see, touch and analyze. One can test the power supply, touch the memory chips, and dissect the motherboard. However, far more important, is the data which resides in and is communicated through the hardware. Those digital realities are what really matter most. That is what one values most. That is why one will carefully preserve these digital realities in order to transcend the life-span of the soon-to-be-outdated laptop.
This is where faith comes into play. Just as Jesus told Thomas, those who believe the invisible realities of who God is and what He has said, will be blessed. You see, in divine realities, it is not "seeing is believing" but rather "believing is seeing." In God's Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11) it speaks of Moses as, "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. " Faith is seeing the invisible.
How is your divine viewpoint today? When "life happens" are you able to step back and see the hand of God in it all? My prayer for all at Mountain View this year is that you will experience more the blessedness that comes as a result of "seeing the invisible" God in your everyday visible world.
"Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible." —Corrie Ten Boom