The Importance

Of Panorama

John Boda

In order to understand the Kingdom of God, it is necessary to see the Kingdom from the viewpoint of eternity rather than from the viewpoint of time and space and from the earth. This close up viewpoint of time and space is what has led some into error interpreting the Kingdom as it relates to us, or as it relates to the church.

 "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and {men of every} language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:14)

 The Kingdom of Heaven has always existed, exists now and always will exist. It is an eternal Kingdom that will not pass away or be destroyed. God’s people do not create the Kingdom; they receive the Kingdom that has always existed. When we search the scriptures and try to interpret the Kingdom from a microscopic viewpoint, we see the parables and the principles of the Kingdom from Matthew 5, 6, and 7. Then we do word studies, background studies, interpret scripture with scripture and compare concordance references and arrive at a microscopic conclusion of what we think the Kingdom is. The problem is we still don't see the Kingdom from God's viewpoint. We see it from the earth perspective. For that reason we get a confused interpretation. When God views His Kingdom, He sees it from the viewpoint of eternity and He sees it as a panoramic vision of His eternal purpose. God sees His creation and His kingdom from His Throne. If we were raised up and seated together with Christ, we would see creation and the Kingdom as He sees it. If we view the Kingdom from the church we see the Kingdom from the wrong end of the telescope. We need to view the church from the Kingdom. It looks quite different.  Our vision perspective is of tremendous importance in interpreting the purpose of God. In fact, I believe that if we were raised up to see what both the Apostles John and Paul saw in heaven, we would see exactly the same thing! Why? Because what they saw transcends time, they didn’t see something in the past, their present or our future, but they saw the kingdom of God, which existed outside of time and space and is eternal!

Still when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache, until I entered the sanctuary of God – then I saw the whole picture. Psalms 73:16 –The Message

Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the scriptures, either God’s law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but complete. I am going to pull it all together in a vast panorama. (Jesus) Matthew 5:17-18 – The Message

Jesus said, “You’re tied down to the mundane, I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch; I’m living on other terms.  John 8: 23 -The Message

You have your head in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These scriptures are all about me! (Jesus) John 5: 39-40 -The Message

Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ – that’s where the action is! See things from his perspective. Colossians 3:1-3 – The Message

These verses and many, many more, urge us to enter into the panoramic view of God and the Kingdom! Without this big picture view, we will always have a twisted and confused view of theology – ALWAYS!

Of course, none of us ever gets it right 100%, but in order to even get a grasp and basic understanding on God and his ways, we need a panoramic view. I believe that most bad doctrines are conceived within a small mindset of the microscopic view.

For instance; theologians have been arguing the case for Calvinism verses Arminianism, for centuries, or Predestination vs. Free Will, BOTH have scriptural support!

Which is correct? I myself have struggled with these issues and have read extensively pro and con on both sides of the issue.

Recently, I resolved the issue within my own mind by concluding that an either-or viewpoint is really looking at it within the microscopic mindset and their lies the problem! But if we look at the issue of free will and predestination more from God’s point of view, within the panoramic big picture, we find that there is no problem at all! In fact, when I here people say, “I’m a Calvinist” or “I’m an Armenian”, I want to add, “Yes, but you are also very small minded in your view of God!”

If you view things more from the panorama, you may conclude as I did, that WE ARE PREDESTINED FOR FREE WILL! Within any other view, we really limit God and think small! I am a Calvinian! (Take that Spell-check!) Once you begin to see things within the big picture panorama, this issue is not even an issue! Oh yes, it still remains a mystery to us like nearly all things of God, but it really is resolved as any kind of problem in the panoramic scope.

Einstein’s Thinking

It is well documented that Albert Einstein developed his radical, revolutionary theories by using word – pictures. In fact, the more commonly used term for it is called, “Big Picture Thinking”! Yes, he was a very smart man, a trained scientist, and was considered brilliant, but so are a lot of science men and women! There was something more that set him apart and made him see things that no one else could see! I believe, like many others, that it was his big picture thinking.

How Einstein developed this gift is uncertain, but he seemed to have it from very early on in his life. When most small boys were beginning to speak words and sentences at the usual normal age, Einstein was silent. His parents became very worried that he may have had some kind of serious problem in his development, and they did what they could to help him begin to speak words. But while other kids were starting to speak, Einstein was already thinking in word – pictures!

After years of developing this gift, at age 26, he was ready to publish his first theory of relativity and usher in a radical new and accurate view of science and physics. A view which would not completely overturn the old classical physics of Isaac Newton, but greatly enlarge upon it and show what Newton never could!

Isaac Newton, also an incredible genius and thinker, developed what would become known as classical physics which ruled science for over 200 years, until Einstein. In Newton’s world, his theories work and he accurately understood the physics of the universe of which we all live and experience. But what he didn’t know was that this world of our experience is only a tiny, tiny bit of the entire Cosmos!  In other words, he didn’t think big enough, he didn’t excel in big picture thinking! It wasn’t his entire fault, as he developed laws and science according to what was known in his day. Einstein had much more science knowledge accessible to him, plus Einstein had help from a few key others of whom he built upon their work and discoveries, others such as James Clerk Maxwell and Michael Faraday.

Once Einstein grasped the actual big picture view, he saw that the old classical physics laws that declared space and time were absolute just couldn’t be true! He found, within the big picture of our big universe, that in actuality, space and time both bend and warp depending on speed and gravity. But within the big picture, Einstein saw that what was really absolute was a completely new entity called – spacetime.

This mindset of thinking also then opened up another can of worms into the micro-small world and another realm of physics now focuses on that, called Quantum Mechanics. (Although this world is extremely small, it too is part of the big picture thinking as it exists outside our normal world and experience)

At this point in science, there are two sets of laws and understanding dealing with the big – general relativity, and the small – quantum mechanics. Many scientists believe that it is going to take an even bigger view of the universe to merge the two and find the harmony! (One current theory that is thinking in such big terms is called – string theory.)

But I digress; this writing is not about science but about the importance of the panorama! But I hope that I have made my point of example using Albert Einstein, who clearly practiced this panoramic, big picture thinking, to come to an understanding of a truer picture of reality! My hope is that once we, as believers in Jesus, begin to practice this enlarged view, we will also begin to see God and his kingdom plan more as they really are in spiritual realities.

Biblical Examples

As I began looking through scripture for examples of this enlarged view, and those who practiced it, I discovered something amazing. Nearly everyone who was close to God and had faith, were all living it! It would be easier to look for those who weren’t than those who were! Likewise, nearly all those who didn’t have faith, who refused to believe, all thought in small terms and tended to see things from a small, limited perspective.

There were many in-between types, who wanted to believe, who thought they were following God, but due to their limited perspective, they fashioned a small god within their minds and ended up following him instead of the one true limitless God. (Some who come to mind are the Pharisees – and the many similar types who still exist today. I myself am a recovering Pharisee.)

But here, I will focus in on just a few key characters in the Bible who exemplified this mindset of thinking in the big picture, although there are many!

Abraham

The very first one who really lived this mindset in the Old Testament is Abraham! But before I get into some of his wonderful faith-filled qualities which betray a panoramic view, I must give this word of caution;

Abraham was not a super saint! He was human and very human full of all the faults, weaknesses, and inclinations towards selfishness and sin that all of us have, yes just liked you and me! I once taught a message entitled, “Fumbling Forward in Faith” which was all about Abraham, and how he fumbled forward, two steps forward and one step back almost his whole life! However Abraham DID move forward by his faith, and grew within the big panoramic view that God kept reminding him about!

You can read the entire account of his life in Genesis from chapters 12 – 25 and see many clear indications of his large view he cultivated by his faith in God. But time will not allow me to go verse by verse here in this study! But please consider this passage from the New Testament;

By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God’s call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations – the city designed and built by God.  Hebrews 11: 8-10

That’s how he did it! By keeping his eye on an unseen city! This city was the New Jerusalem, although Abraham may not have seen its completed glorious form, yet John did, and wrote about it in detail in Revelation. The New Jerusalem – you can’t get more panoramic and large in scope that that!

Job

Another Biblical character who clearly displayed the panoramic large view of faith was Job. (In fact he may have actually lived before Abraham)

We are all aware of his great trial and story recorded in the book of his name. But consider this passage at the beginning;

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I’ll return to the womb of the earth. God gives, God takes. God’s name is ever blessed. Job 1:21

Job spoke those words right after he learned of the destruction of his cattle and the deaths of his children. How could a person speak such words in that situation, without a large panoramic view of God and his plan?!

Then right after this, the following chapters contain the words of Job’s three friends who clearly did NOT have this large view, but rather a small, distorted view of God!

Joseph

After being sold as a slave by his brothers, Joseph ended up in prison for many years. We all know this story as well; he could have easily developed bitterness and become jaded by any small view of God and lack of faith. But instead, he lived within the panoramic! In fact, Joseph was one of only a very few people in the Bible of whom nothing is recorded badly in any way! (Daniel being another) Yes, Joseph also was very human, but is a beautiful example of living within this large panoramic life of faith, consider his words when he finally revealed himself to his wicked brothers after they discovered he was now the second in command of Egypt;

Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid, do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now – life for many people?  Genesis 50:20

How could anyone say those words after years of ill treatment, without seeing the big panoramic picture of faith in God?!

Paul

Of course, we can’t leave out the Apostle Paul! He exemplified this large panoramic view! Almost every word in every book he wrote in the New Testament is brimming with this urge to become immersed into the grand, deep ocean of God’s panoramic view by faith!

Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives, live openly and expansively!  II Corinthians 6:11-13

How could it be spoken any more plain or clearly?! Do you see how much Paul desired the church at Corinth to enter into the panoramic view? He is earnestly begging them to open their spiritual eyes and step into the big picture where God lives! This is Paul’s deepest prayer for them!

In speaking of his fellow Jewish people who have rejected Jesus, Paul says;

And Israel, who seemed so interested in reading and talking about what God what doing, missed it. How could they miss it? Because instead of trusting God, they took over. They were absorbed in what they themselves were doing. They were so self absorbed in their “God projects” that they didn’t notice God right in front of them, like a huge rock in the middle of the road.  Romans 9:30

Paul goes on and on and on and on about the need to enlarge our view! Maybe that is the reason why God was pleased to use him to pen most of the New Testament!

There are many more examples! Please go back to the beginning of this study and re-read the verses there spoken by Jesus, our very best example of this mindset!

Conclusion

I am convinced that the big picture panoramic mindset is not an option, but a highest priority requirement for any of us to truly walk and live the faith-life of a pilgrim Christ follower today. We can attempt to live without it, but our lives will fall far short of God’s desired will and plan for each of us.

How do we enter into this mindset?

First, pray and ask God to move you towards it! It is a God-thing, and requires God’s hand to allow any of us to enlarge our view and begin to move and live in the panoramic.

Secondly, begin to read the scriptures again, but these times read them through the lenses of largeness, and seek to understand scripture by scripture. In other words, begin to read any passage only as it fits as a piece of fabric within the whole picture.

I know this sounds difficult, but with God’s help, it is very possible.

Finally, seek out others who already live within this mindset and learn from them! Let them help you see, and move towards it step by step.

I sincerely hope that this short writing is also of help to assist you towards that life.

Grace & peace to you! John Boda