by Pastor Doug Brauner

It All Depends on Where You’re Standing

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

A post stands next to a trail. It’s the same post, but depending on a person’s perspective, the post doesn’t look the same. The context is different when a person stands close to the post versus when they stand at a distance. The background changes when someone stands to the south as opposed to when they stand to the north of the post.

However, it’s the same post. It hasn’t changed.

When people look at Jesus, their view of him depends on where they’re standing. The perspective to which I’m referring isn’t whether a person literally stands next to Jesus or at a distance. I’m talking about a person’s idea of Jesus being formed by what they believe about him.

Some people see Jesus as a great teacher who shows them how to live their lives.

Some people see Jesus as a prophet who predicts what the future holds.

Some people see Jesus as a fake who exploited people’s weaknesses.

Where are you standing when you look at Jesus? What’s your perspective? John the Baptist, rooted in the Word of God and its promises, saw Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

“The next day [John] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'”
John 1:29 English Standard Version

John saw Jesus from the perspective of faith. Though he had moments when he wondered if Jesus was the Messiah (Matthew 11:2-3), he still clung to God’s Word and even died for his faith.

Let me ask the question again. Where are you standing when you look at Jesus? What is your perspective? Where you stand will determine your perspective of Jesus.

I hope that you, like John, will look at Jesus from the perspective of faith, trusting that he is whom the Scriptures say he is. It will change how you see not only God but the world as well.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado