Heaven's Vantage Point

If you have ever climbed a mountain, you know what it is like to finally see the landscape of the world in a whole new light.  There have been a few mountains that I have climbed in my lifetime.  I remember, on one occasion, climbing a peak in Colorado, the name of which I have long since forgotten.  I remember how cranky our little scout troop was when the hike was muddy, or when the mosquitos were so thick, you couldn’t talk without swallowing a few (which was a great lesson on complaining since the only solution was to keep your mouth shut).  Or how miserable it felt to get caught in the rain while breaking camp so that you had to sleep in a wet sleeping bag that evening. 

I also remember how the weather changed almost instantly once we got above the tree line (the elevation on the mountain where trees won’t grow).  I remember what it was like to finally stand at the peak, to have the bitterly cold wind blow in your face enough to make your eyes water and sting, even in late June.  But what I remember most was the breathtaking view at the top when we could all see farther than many of us had ever seen in our lives.

From that vantage point, we could see all the places we had been, the roads we traveled on to get to the base camp, and the towns we passed through on our way.  They all looked so small.

The world simply looks different from way up there.

I imagine that experience was but a small taste of what it must be like to consider our world from a heavenly perspective.

The psalmist writes the following in Psalm 67.

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,

Selah

 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.

 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!”

(Psalm 67:1–3 ESV)

The psalmist makes three requests.

First, the psalmist acknowledges that we all need grace.

No one is an exception to this.

I need grace, you need grace, together we need grace.

They, clearly, need grace.  Whoever they are, they really need grace. 

Funny, though, they probably think the same about us.

Imagine how different our world would be if we all took a deep breath and acknowledged that we all need grace.

Second, the psalmist asks for God’s face to shine upon us.  This isn’t the same thing as requesting to see God’s face.  To look upon the Glory of God almost certainly meant death.  Isaiah said,

“And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5 ESV)

Rather, the psalmist is requesting that God’s favor would be toward His people.

In the fullness of time, God answered that prayer in a powerful way.  In sending His Son into the world, God’s favor was upon His people.

The third request the psalmist makes is that God’s way may be known on the earth.  That we might have a glimpse of what the world looks like from God’s vantage point.  To get there, we have to keep walking through it all.  There are days we look, and we catch a glimpse of what it will be like, and other days where we feel like we are slogging through the spiritual mud.  But someday, the same God who began the work of salvation in you will bring it to completion, and all those who have trusted Christ will get to see the world from heaven’s vantage point.

On that day, His way will be known on earth.

Keep safe, be well, and stay encouraged.

Brian