On Perspective (by Tony Alicea)

Today’s guest post comes from Tony Alicea, who I connected with on the twitter.

Tony is a budding writer that loves technology, grandiloquent words, long walks on the beach and freshly ground Guatemalan coffee. His passion is to tell others about their identity in Christ.

Not only is a he wonderful writer, but based on his writing and my interactions with him, it’s evident that he loves God and loves people. Besides, he’s a fan of Seinfeld and The Office. Clearly he’s a man of refined tastes. I hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I have.

Here’s Tony on perspective:
Perspective is an ever-changing reality. It frames our picture, adjusts our lenses and it creates our filters. We use it to define everything from relationships to space and time.

Sometimes a minor shift in perspective, will open up a completely new reality. Adjusting the lens just slightly, opens up an entirely different view. What looked impossible, now seems possible. What looked uninteresting, becomes fascinating. What sounded like noise, becomes melodious.

Blessed is she who clearly sees the wood for the trees.
To obtain a ‘bird’s eye’ is to turn a blizzard into a breeze. ~Brandon Boyd

Perspective does not define truth, but it will shape how you receive truth. Your perspective is limited to your experience. Your experience determines the level of truth you can comprehend.

You can take a concept such as grace, for example. You can believe in grace. You can quote the definition. You can tell others about it. But if you never receive it from another person, your perspective on the scope of grace is limited to an abstract concept.

It takes an experience to shift your perspective. You cheat. You lie. You fall. You fail…miserably. Then the result you’ve encountered up to that point (condemnation, disappointment, abandonment) doesn’t come. You receive words of hope. You receive forgiveness. You receive something you don’t deserve. You experience grace.

You are pulled back and you see a larger part of the picture. The unending trees open up to a clearing. The fierce whirlwind becomes a gentle breeze. Despair turns into hope. All due to a shift in perspective, an experiential alteration of your entire paradigm.

Every time I put God in a box, He shifts my perspective. It doesn’t mean that the truth of who He is changes; it just means that my limited comprehension of truth gets enhanced by a new experience. It is an enchanting mystery of an ever-expanding reality.

I am now wary of explaining God succinctly. I don’t box Him into a theology that defines exactly what He will do and how He will do it. That doesn’t change the fact that His truth is constant. It simply provides room for the mystery and recognition that I haven’t and won’t experience every aspect of my prodigious God.

Perspective is realizing that possessing the truth doesn’t mean you have all the answers, but knowing that you can trust in the One that does.

To read more from Tony Alicea, visit him at at his website and follow him on the twitter at @TonyJAlicea.