For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8-9)
When I look at my Christmas tree, I can say a few truths about it. It has lights and a tree topper. There are no ornaments on it except a few swirls of ribbon. It is perfectly simple and beautiful to me. Others may look at it and think it is undone. Others may think I am lazy and did not want to climb through the dust in the garage to find the boxes that contain the ornaments. Others may judge that it is not a “real” Christmas tree because it happens to be artificial. Others may be happy that I didn’t kill a live tree.
Life is a lot like that. People have many different perspectives. One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. We often judge each other because we are stuck in our own heads with our own eyes. Our eyes, our minds, our views are so limited though. The good news is; our perspectives don’t fully count. Sure they impact our feelings and actions, but we can know they are flawed and choose to opt for the truth: God’s ways are higher than ours.
Whether your Christmas is full of cheer or drear, God is still on the throne. His ways and thoughts are higher, and better. And rest assured they are divinely carried out by love even if it does not feel that way.