The Other Side
“On that day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." Mark 4:35 ESV
Ole and Lena were vacationing. Lena sent Ole to town to buy some groceries. When he came to the river, he looked up it and down, but could not see either a bridge or a ferry to cross it. Just as he was about to give up, he saw his good friend Sven on the other side.
"Sven," Ole called to his friend, "how can I get to de other side of de river?"
Sven shouted back, "Ole, you are already on de other side."
It's all a matter of perspective … People see life from different directions. There's an old saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." Part of human nature is that when we see the good things in someone else's life, sometimes we wish we could have them. It is easy to be envious of someone else's home, someone else's looks, someone else's money … instead of being thankful and content with our own. Life can be hard. Some people have very difficult circumstances in their lives, but when bad things happen, God wants us to draw near to Him. He wants to hold us even closer.
God doesn't want us to envy others. He wants us to live our lives thankfully. He doesn't want us to be falsely proud of how important we are. He wants us to gratefully acknowledge that all good things in our lives have come from Him. When we truly know and love Him, it changes everything in our lives.
Lord God, there are so many things in life that weigh us down. The world tells us that we need to get ahead, but You invite us to stop and appreciate life right where we are. Please take away the wrong thoughts and self-centeredness in our hearts. Flood our minds and lives with thankfulness and praise. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.