A Realist Lives in Light of the Big Picture

Last week we were in the mountains and my wife saw a bear and I saw a cliff. I couldn’t see the bear for the cliff, which is an inversion of the old maxim that a person can’t see the forest for the trees, meaning you are so caught up in the details that you can’t see the big picture. I was the exact opposite. I didn’t want to see the bear because I had to look over a cliff to do it and the cliff scared me to death. So, I missed the detail, the bear, because of the big picture of the cliff. My wife was looking over the cliff with her camera watching the bear while I was looking at the rocks on the safe side of the mountain.

Sometimes we can’t see the big picture. We miss life, the right perspective, because we miss the big picture. In Philippians Paul is what you might think of as optimistic simply because he looked to the particulars of his life in light of the big picture. His was a gospel perspective. At least five times in Philippians 1 the obvious subtext is the gospel. He talks about the fellowship of the gospel, the defense of the gospel, the furtherance of the gospel, the gospel of Christ, the faith of the gospel, and Christ being preached, which is the gospel. Paul’s life, ministry, and perspective were absorbed with something that literally means good news, the gospel.

Because of that he was thankful in verse 3, joyful in verse 4, confident in verse 6. He was a man of expectation and hope in verse 19. So, was Paul a pessimist or an optimist? I don’t think he was either because we are not talking about temperament here but perspective. Paul was a realist. Now, if you are an atheist and a realist, then the surest reality is death. If you are a believer, you know the gospel of Christ, and death is not the end. Heaven is the end and the gospel is simply the good news.

So, a realist lives in light of the biggest picture, which is ultimately the good news. Paul could have buoyancy of life even in difficult times because he didn’t look on little particulars, things he might worry about for today, tomorrow, or the next day. He was thinking about the big picture. He didn’t glory in little things, like a coming weekend or having a nice day. He gloried in the big picture, the gospel, the good news.

Friend, the big picture is the bright side. I Corinthians 15:19 says, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” So, if I am preaching a gospel that is false because there is no God and Christ is a fallacy, then I’m deluded and of all men most miserable. Sometimes we think even if heaven were a myth and God was not true, that we would want to be a Christian because it is the best way to live. That sounds good and nice, but it is not true. If in this life only we have hope in Christ Jesus, we are of all men most miserable.

The Bible goes on, “Now is Christ risen from the dead.” There is an “if” and an “is.” If Christ be not risen, we are miserable, but now is Christ risen. So, a realist is a person who lives in light of the biggest picture, the gospel.

First, a realist lives in light of the big picture of the good news in his partnerships. Verse 5 says that Paul thanked God “for your fellowship in the gospel.” That is partnership in the gospel. What draws you to other people? Is it the fact that you have things in common, the same tastes and opinions, or is it something bigger and more transcendent, in this case, the gospel. A realist lives in light of the big picture in his partnerships. Someone may not have gone to my school, like my state, have my tastes, or be anything like me, but if he is giving the gospel, I need to give that some weight. I need to be a realist who lives in light of the biggest of pictures, the gospel. Sometimes we miss out on partnering with people for the most important things while we trivialize over things that are likes and wants and not most important.

Second, a realist lives in light of the big picture in his problems. In verse 12 Paul says, “But I would that ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel.” He was talking about prison and being attacked rather than supported by other believers, but he said that he was confident that his problems would fall out to the furtherance of the gospel. Indeed they did. Paul wasn’t being a temperamental optimist, an optimist because it was his personality. He was a realist who realized the biggest of pictures, beyond even death, is the good news of the gospel, that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

Lastly, a realist lives in light of the big picture in his prospects. Paul was a realist in his prospects. Verse 19 says, “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” Then he goes on, “Whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” What he was saying is, “I can’t lose. I’m going to be delivered whether it is to heaven or to you.”

I can’t lose because the biggest picture is not the homework this weekend, my job on Monday, family problems on Tuesday, or death at the end of the trail. It is the gospel and eternal life through Jesus Christ. That should temper the way I view my prospects. In verse 6 he says, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” It was a good work because of the good news of Jesus Christ.

So, are you a pessimist, an optimist, or a realist who lives in light of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord? A realist lives in light not just of today or tomorrow, but in light of the big picture, the good news, in his partnerships, problems, and prospects, in short, in his perspective.