Rain
It is raining this morning.
If you know me, or have worked for me or with me, you know that I despise the rain. Lament it even.
Now I’m from Southern California originally. And if you’re familiar with that area you know that it doesn’t rain. Or at least it rains very seldom. So, when it did, it was a big deal. But it always created problems for me. Maybe it was the slick roads that created poor driving, maybe it was the terrible infrastructure around capturing and moving the water in an efficient matter, or maybe it was the fact that people forgot how to use a speaker box to order their food. In that season of my life, rain slowed things down, made a mess of things, and created more problems than good. Rain made the sun go away, kept people from going outside and usually didn’t rain enough to wash things clean. It was depressing.
Or at least that’s just how I choose to see it.
I was choosing to only see the negative perspectives of rain.
Then I moved. To a place where it rains. A lot. And my perspective started to change.
My job, and day to day, was no longer affected by the rain.
This place was designed for rain. Proper water run-off and collection is in place to capture and store for later use.
People even know how to drive in the rain, well at least most of them.
When it rains here it shows me how much I’ve misplaced my feelings towards rain. Rain gives life. Rain is a catalyst for growth. Rain washes things clean and offers a fresh start.
And then this morning it hit me. They are all symbols of Jesus.
“The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.”
Deuteronomy 28:12 NIV
“I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit.”Leviticus 26:4 NIV
Without rain (water), the vegetation, the trees and the greenery wouldn’t be as beautiful as they are. Life around us is dependent on rain and water. We are dependent on it.
Rain allows things to grow, it washes things clean, and ultimately to make all things new. So does Jesus. He comes alongside us in our lives and wants the best for us. For us to grow closer to him. To be made clean by his sacrifice, and to be made new in accepting of him as our savior.
I can see now how my perception, or better yet my vitrial, of rain was misplaced and misguided. It was focused on me and how it affected me. Selfish. Not the impact that rain had on the life and the world around me. How important that it was and how much I depended on it.
Maybe somebody reading this feels that way about Jesus?
Misplaced perceptions or misguided beliefs?
What if you choose to see it different?
Like I did with rain.
I know I have brought my own selfish attitude or behaviors into my relationship with him. But when I’ve seen him as human, as someone who cares, as someone who loves me, it has allowed him to change me for the better.
Share your story of when you had a shift in your perspective here. We would love to hear your stories.
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