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I found this picture recently and it got me thinking. Saint Paul famously wrote in his first letter to the Christian community of Corinth, "For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood" (1 Corinthians 13:9-12).
This is such a crucially important point and one that I know I would do well to reflect upon more regularly and more deeply. I take so much for granted every single day. I am so sure that I've got it all figured out sometimes and it usually leads me into trouble. I think many of us proceed with our day as though we have the high ground and, therefore, the best perspective on things. From where I stand, I can clearly see exactly what's wrong with you. I know how we should go about handling this project at work better than anyone else does. I know which enemy needs to be destroyed, which obstacle eliminated, which perfect solution pursued in order to make everything right.
But do I? Do you? Do we really know? How do we know? How can we be sure that our perspective is the best? How can we be sure that someone else's point of view can't possibly be helpful or beneficial? The truth is, I think, that most of us aren't on the peak like whoever took this incredible photo. Most of us wander around in the fog below when what we should probably be trying to do is to humbly ask God to raise us up to the peaks for a better view. We should also be seeking out ways in which to help one another make this ascent together rather than clambering over top of each other. We should always be trying to get to a place in which we can see more clearly and with a much greater sense of context.
When it's all said and done, our lives are not a random assortment of unrelated and inconsequential events. Rather, we are part of a much bigger story and everything we think, say, and do matters. We are called to so much more than mediocrity, selfish one-upmanship, or petty rivalries. We are made for greatness, a greatness that will pour out of us into every facet of our lives when we learn how to live from the peaks, above the fog where we can see the grand design more clearly. Once we stop fighting Him and begin to allow the Lord to show us our lives through His perspective, everything will change. Our work, our relationships, our dreams and goals will be given a breadth and depth and height we never imagined when we merely wandered aimlessly in the foggy valley below.
Let's follow the lead of one of my heroes, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, whose motto was "Verso l'Alto!" (To the Heights!) Let's refuse to be content with living our lives apart from the bigger and more glorious vision that God has in store for us!
