God's Point of View Revisited

I totally missed something...or I would have had I not had a conversation with a friend yesterday that helped me see what more God had for me. It's about my point of view which is horizontal verses His point of view which is vertical. 

When I see the people in my life with my eyes in my flesh, I see a bunch of people. Some are good, some are bad. Some are nice, some are mean. Some love me, some hate me. And the list goes on. My perspective which is dependent on what my experience has been with each person, determines how I relate and react to them. When someone is disagreeable or has caused me pain, I interact with them from that platform. I tend to grit my teeth and endure...and I can even say that if I don't snap back or be mean, I'm "suffering for my savior". But here is the thing, Jesus didn't say to put up with or react to those who have hurt or wronged us...or those who hate us. He says to love them. He says to do good to them. He says to pray for them and bless them. Why would He say such things? Isn't enduring them with "patience" enough?

He says to pray for them and bless them because He loves them and He died for them. He didn't die for them because they were good to Him or didn't hurt them or even that they loved Him. He died for them because He loved them...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We love Him because He first loved us. 

"DOING!" Lightbulb moment. Here's where that vertical point of view comes in. When I look at what Christ did for us on the cross, I am at it's feet looking up. And as I look up, I see eyes of love looking down...not just on me, but on everyone...including those who hurt me. When I see difficult people through my eyes, I react with difficulty. When I see difficult people through His eyes, I feel love for them. I can chose to see with my mind, or with the mind of Christ. To view people outside the mind of Christ is to sin...because he who knows what is right and doesn't do it, sins. 

So here's another image to the picture that the Lord has been showing me through His word. Prayer may not change my circumstances or change the people around me, but it will change me and the way I see them and react to them. Now I understand why I often find it difficult to respond in love to certain people in my life. I've been going about it from the wrong point of view.