Day
5 - Seeing
Life From God’s View
Did
you know that how you see life changes your life? It’s true. For
instance, if you see life as an opportunity to get to be famous and
popular, you won’t be happy unless you have lots of friends. Your view
of life affects your goals, your studies, your dreams, your
relationships, your wants, your happiness, and much more. There are as
many different views about life as there are people. Some see life as a
fight, a party, an adventure, a roller coaster, or something else. But
the Bible gives us three views. Today we will discuss how it is a test
and a trust. Tomorrow we will discuss how life is a temporary
assignment .
The
Bible says that life is a test. We are often given tests in this
life. The reason we are given tests isn’t to fail us, but to help us
grow. Being tested helps us to get better. If a teacher gave the same
test four times in a row with a week in between each one, you’d
probably do better on the last one. Even if you didn’t study, you
could see what you missed last time and know to try a different answer.
In life you will be tested by anger, tragedy, opportunity, unhappiness,
inconvenience, lines at the store, and all other situations. At each
test, we can demonstrate and grow. We develop love, and patience, and
other things that we can’t develop any other way.
The
Bible also says that life is a trust. A trust is where someone
puts you in charge of something. You can use it, but it should be in
good shape when it is returned. A good example of this might be
borrowing your friend’s car. If you return it smashed up and with two
flat tires, then they won’t want to let you use it again. If you
return it full of gas and washed instead, they will think you are
trustworthy. God has given us gifts, talents, money, relationships, and
other things. Life is a trust in that he will see how we handle these
gifts. We should return them in better shape than they were given. This
is easier to do if we admit that they belong to God, not us, in the
first place.
Money,
which is a test and a trust, is one of the most difficult things to
handle. The Bible tells us that where we put our treasure, our heart is.
That just means that what we spend money on first is the most important.
As an example, if we choose not to give our tithe to God this month so
we can buy a movie, game, CD, or something else, we have just said that
whatever we bought is more important to us than God.
We
need to see that we are just passing through this world, and that
everything in it belongs to and is returned to God. Only then can we
realize that we will be accountable for how we treat his things.
Thinking
about my purpose:
Know. Life is a test and a trust.
Remember. “Unless you are faithful in small matters, you
won’t be faithful in large ones.” -Luke 16.10a
Think about it. What are some tests from God that I go
through? What are some important things God has given to me?