This morning my son asked me what I was listening to. I was listening to the radio show Marketplace. And so, of course he asked, “What’s that?” I told him it was a news show about the world around us told
through the lens of how people use money. This has me thinking about lenses and how many we use on a daily basis. Most of the time, in this Heartbeat article I talk using a Christian lens. Sometimes it’s about
current events, sometimes it’s about history. Other times, like today, it is about what is going on in my head. But it is almost always from a Christian perspective (this shouldn’t be a surprise).

Our Lenses, or perspectives, no matter how much we love them, aren’t perfect. They don’t show us the only way to see the world. I’ve talked in the past about our “Jesus glasses”, and how reading things like the Old Testament with our Jesus glasses on is not wrong, but it does give us a different perspective than those who were living it. Our perspective on the New Testament is similar; we can struggle to understand the Disciples who are themselves struggling to understand Jesus when He says He’s going to be killed and resurrected on the third day. Isn’t it obvious!? To us, yes, who have been raised on the stories of Jesus’ resurrection. But to those who hadn’t seen or heard of such a thing? No.

Being aware of our lenses, or perspectives, can be difficult. But even recognizing that we have a perspective that might be different, though no more or less valid, than another’s is a big step in the right direction. This is the basis of living in community together, recognizing that those who do not agree are not always fools, but instead have a different perspective on the world. Understanding their perspective a little better might be a great step toward building a stronger community, a stronger church, and a stronger Faith.