A "peephole" life

A few days ago I was sitting in my living room when I thought I heard a knock on my door.
I wasn't expecting company so I looked through the peephole.
As I was looking out to see if anyone was there, God brought to my attention that this tiny little view is exactly the view I see life, people, and even Him through.

Imagine yourself looking through a peephole. Better yet, go look through one! What do you see?
A straight and narrow view. You cannot see what is to your right, to your left, above or below you, only that which is directly in front of you.

How often do I question God because I refuse to trust what lies outside of the small world I see?
How often do I miss the opportunity to serve someone because they are outside of my narrow self-centered agenda?

Something I have noticed time and time again is that Jesus stopped for people. He was never too busy to love, to serve, or to give of Himself. He stopped for the people nobody else would stop for. The sick, the hungry, the poor, the hurt, the sinful...
Jesus lived His life aware of the people and world around Him.

As we grow closer to God our capacity to love grows.
If we would only look past our peephole and TRUST that God has the better view, our lives would be better lived.
Kaleb and I were discussing all of this last night and he said: "The more you love, the more love you have to give." Do you think God did that on accident? Do you think God died for you to have it end with you? NO!
Our lives are not small but we live them in a small way.
God has a bigger agenda than you do.
He has more in mind for your life than you could ever imagine. All we see is a tiny little piece of what God is doing around us.
When He calls us to look past our peephole and open the door it may feel uncomfortable.
But in our discomfort we grow.

I think two of the greatest ways to move beyond the little world you live in is through prayer and reading God's word.
Nothing puts things into perspective quite like prayer. Through prayer one is able to understand what truly matters and let go of what does not.
God moves us onto His agenda and we are then able to intercede for the sake of His Kingdom and His people. Praying for other people is one of the most selfless and beautiful ways God allows us to serve Him.
Reading and being filled by His word opens our eyes to the way Jesus lived. We have the perfect example of someone who lived with a Kingdom agenda rather than a self-centered one. He gives us an eternal perspective rather than a temporary one.

I pray we can set our eyes not on what is directly in front of us but on what is above.
We may not be able to see what is outside of our peephole but that is exactly what God calls us to set our eyes upon.
Where else will we learn to trust Him better than amidst the unknown?

So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18