Reverse Roles

Looking at situations from another’s point of view can give a very different perspective, most often one I hadn’t considered. One approach to using this in Bible study is to imagine yourself in the place of each participant in a particular narrative.

Recently I’ve been getting schooled a bit on my very “yeah, yeah, yeah” approach to some of the verses I’ve known for years. For example, “Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7). This has always seemed like a passage from a prosperity gospel or from “get yourself right with God and you’ll get the answers you want”.

This passage is set in the midst of a whole lotta verses about the Kingdom of God. That in itself might have tipped me off to there being another way to read this. What if the asking and seeking and knocking isn’t about what we receive, find and have opened to us in this world but rather receiving, finding, and entering the Kingdom of God? Wow.

We also read Kingdom of God parables in Matthew 13. In the parable of the merchant who finds a pearl of great value, the merchant goes away, and sells everything he has to buy it. I’ve always viewed it as me being the merchant and finding out about Jesus. That being willing to give up everything for Jesus brings about the focus on what is truly important. But what if, what if, Jesus is the merchant and I am the pearl? What if I am of such great value to Jesus, that he was willing to give up everything to purchase me? Give up heaven, give up power, give up His life?

Take a look at the parable preceding that one, where the Kingdom of God likened to a treasure hidden in a field. When someone finds it, they, in their joy, go and sell all they have to buy the field. Flip the participants. What if YOU are the treasure?

I’m not pretending to know exactly what Jesus intended and it well could be that both interpretations are true. But I do find it refreshing to stop putting me in the driver’s seat when I read what Jesus had to say. And to also be reminded of just how much He loves me.

P.S. Happy Birthday Dad. ❤️