Context is King

So when you look at the image below what comes to your mind? Beautiful snow capped mountains....great skiing....great view.......wish I had some cocoa?

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How about the words bleak, frigid, stark, dangerous, or lonely?

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It is so very easy in life to get selectively focused on portions of our existence and lose sight of the larger context in which we are living. The Holiday Season is a time when we can be particularly susceptible to being narrow, maybe even a bit selfish, in our focus.

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The Holiday Season is also a great time to pause, step back and view our lives in a much larger context. As a follower of Christ the way we live out our lives over the next several weeks may be the only witness for Christ that some people see. The exhausted single mother and cashier at the grocery store, the sales clerk struggling with family problems and irate customers, the neighbor next door who I have not made acquaintances with just yet, a co-worker struggling with children making unwise choices.....the list goes on and on of the people we interact with everyday whose only experience with Christ may be a kind word and a sympathetic ear from a believer.

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So if you will; please pause, step back and keep stepping back until your view of your surroundings and the people around you includes God.

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And the beautiful mountains above... the view from a fire base in Afghanistan.

Forward Operating Base Airborne, Afghanistan Nov 25, 2009.

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Grace & Peace