Great Wall of China
I recently heard Mark Conner, past senior pastor of Citylife Church Melbourne, speak on a special trip he went on. He and his wife found themselves with the opportunity to visit the Great Wall of China.
While they didn’t have a large amount of time they didn’t waste a moment to climb the many stairs all the way to the top. When they reached a peak position they stopped and took in the incredible view.
Mark, being quite tall, made the most of the moment by taking a 360 degree video of all he could see. While there was lots more for them to do he was pleased he had taken the time to grab the video for future reference.
They descended the wall and quickly got in a taxi to head to the next destination. Mark’s wife started showing him all the great photos she had taken. Mark grabbed his own phone but couldn’t believe what he was seeing when he played back his video.
All that could be seen on the screen was Mark’s face. It was perfectly framed so it took up the whole screen and after he had turned a full circle you could see the satisfaction on his face!
It seems Mark had the camera focussed in the wrong direction. Instead of looking outward at the incredible view it was just focussed on his face.
This video failure is a great life lesson for us. So often when we go through life we can focus on ourselves. Even at significant moments we can turn the focus back onto what we have done.
Mark warned that at the end of our life we don’t want our greatest achievement to be a selfie.
How much greater our lives will be – both personally and externally – if we spend time focusing on others rather than ourselves. Our view will be much more majestic if we take the time to observe what is around us rather than just on our own faces.
Don’t let your life just be a selfie of yourself. Make sure your life brings to light those around you.
Lord, You have knit us together and wonderfully made us. But you also created us in such a way that we are able to see those around us more easily than we can see ourselves. Help us to stay focussed on those who are important and give us a greater understanding of You. Amen.
Who or what is around you that needs your focus?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.