In the Canadian Murdoch Mysteries, young detective Murdoch solves murder mysteries by using his keen interest in science and also relying on his devout faith in God. His success as an investigator almost always involves applying what he already knows to a situation that is new. For example, in one episode he needed a photograph of the victim right away but the only known photograph of the lady was in France. The fax machine had not yet been invented and it would take weeks to send the photo by boat. However, he knew that electronic communication was possible by converting a series of numbers into letters: 1=a, 2=b, etc. Looking at that in a different way, he realized those numbers could represent not just letters but also shades of gray. So by constructing a rubric where 1=white, 9=black, and the numbers in between representing the various shades, he had the photograph in France converted to a chart of numbers and had this sent electronically by wire. Once received in Toronto, the numbers were painstakingly conveyed back into the grayscale correspondents. The result was of course a facsimile of the original photograph.
Isn’t this how all inventions are given birth? A problem presents itself, like a deep chasm separating a person on one side from someone on the other side. Always seeing the expansive gap between them, the only solution to come together was to walk for miles, through great effort, to find a possible crossing. And so it always was this way – until someone looked at the problem differently and built a bridge to cross the gap.
I don’t know if you are particularly inventive or engineering-minded when it comes to creating new solutions to nagging problems. But don’t we all have the ability to look at a problem from a different angle, a new light, and build a bridge of our own to cross the gap from frustration and woe to victory and celebration? That’s exactly what happens when we encourage each other to see problems as opportunities, stumbling blocks as stepping-stones, and even a wide gap of understanding of disagreement as the opportunity to construct a bridge built with respect, compassion, forgiveness, humility, and genuine love.
Right now you see someone who hurts others with brazen words and actions. But looking differently at them, you see someone who is hurt themselves and needing someone to befriend them. You’re in a heated discussion where no consensus can be found and you just want to escape. Looking differently, you realize that HOW we make a decision is sometimes more important than the actual decision. You think of someone who disagrees vehemently with your political or spiritual views and quickly a wide gulf appears to prevent even a civil conversation from happening. Looking differently, you see your own views, firm as they may be, are not the only way of seeing things. Respecting the other person’s right to their own opinion changes how we see them.
That’s what God’s Word does. It shines light, the great symbol of truth and understanding and wisdom onto dark and problematic situations. God gives us the perspective we need to have hundreds of times a day in order to see our problems, our life, and others through his eyes.
Confounded by seeing the your problems always the same and never-changing? Read God’s Word and ask him to see things differently – though his eyes.