The View From Down Here

I was sitting in a little coffee shop on 20th st yesterday.  It was a small space with a good number of people there.  There had been some effort made to create an environment that helped you see yourself as connected to the history of Saskatoon and that, combined with general attitudes of the people, made me feel like I was part of a community.

It felt good.

But as I sat looking out the front window I noticed that from my vantage point I could see the top of the Remai Arts Center--and I started to think. . . . .This building represents, in many ways, a privileged society.  People with means built the building, and people with some means attend the performances there.  I've been to a few of them myself and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  But at the moment that I sat in this little coffee shop, I wondered what would some people that are living in a "non-privileged" society think when they saw the top of that performance theatre?

Despair?  Anger?  Self-pity?  What would the view "from down here" be like for them?

Then I wondered about myself----what is my "view from down here"?  When I look at God and His righteousness and I see just how far above He is over me, I become aware of my chronic sin and I can experience despair, anger and self-pity as well.  I can get so caught up in myself that I forget just how much God cares for me, for the people who live near 20th, and for the people who attend the Remai Arts Center.

We are all in the same boat!

But we need to be reminded of just how important it is that we don't get too caught up in the world we live in because when we do we forget about what we most need.

James 4:7-10 says "Come near to God and He will come near to you. . .Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

As I said before 'we are all in the same boat'.  Let's point it toward Jesus in every way and at all times, and as God comes near to us I think that our "view" will become something pretty beautiful.

BT