The Melody of Man

I was very excited to be able to visit China this past week. In Beijing and Tianjin, I was able to see so many differences and similarities. The best part of the trip to me was the strengthening I received by both getting to experience something new and out of the ordinary, and getting to have a short peek through someone else's lenses. Anytime I visit a new place or am in a situation that is uncomfortable or challenging in some way I attempt to come back with something I can keep, something that becomes part of me, something that makes me a better person.

I was blessed in many ways, but the challenge I came home with, was to do all I could to see things from another perspective, from another world view. No matter what angle we see now, there is always another way to understand or view that same subject. I'm not at all promoting a subjective reality or truth, but rather a holistic view, realizing that just because a thing is true, doesn't mean everyone else can see it. I liken it to the Truth Triangle. The truth is what it is, but our complete understanding of it requires seeing it from multiple sides. If we can take Truth (real objective truth) and seek to understand how other sentient beings perceive that Truth, we may in fact learn something we did not know before. Our thinking becomes challenged and our comfort zone widens (regardless of what we learn about the truth).

Each person, made in the image of God, has a story to tell. That story may comfort us, challenge us, even threaten us - but my hope is that it will change us. If we are to become that person who achieves our maximum potential (whether significant to others or not), we must be willing to see more than what we've been told, more than what we've experienced, more than what the moment holds.

As we play the simple tune of our own life, we must not miss the opportunity to hear the intricacies of interwoven melody found when our lives touch others' lives. If we can hear this ballad, will we not be changed? Will we not become something more? If we will allow ourselves the uncomfortable moment, the trepidation of the unknown, the challenge of truly hearing and seeing things from the perspectives of others, I say we will be changed. But it cannot stop there. We must then take that which we have heard and learned and make it part of our story, our melody, our perspective. If then perhaps we find the 0pportunity to share our new melody with another, at an intimate and spiritual level, maybe we will have the joy of seeing someone else experience the same.

As a Christian, I enjoy seeing the wonderful variety of humanity, the handiwork of God, and I marvel at His patience, grace, and wonderful gifts. I pray that God uses my new melody, even as it is being worked out now, to bring honor to His kingdom, and true sacrificial love to those around me.