PERCEPTION IS PERSONAL

 

I am not better than anyone. 

You are not better than anyone. 

Everyone goes through external challenges and internal struggles.

The fundamental difference in people is not in what they go through, where they come from or in their height, size, complexion, status, location or those external factors but in internal factors which define the texture of their true being, nature and personality: their hearts and minds, that is who they really are in essence and how they think.  

The key difference in people is in each person’s perspective, attitude and thinking pattern or thought process (how as individuals people think about whatever happens, whatever is happening or whatever has happened). 

"As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."

People are different because of how they think, perceive, see or view things.

In other words, their worldview (their inner sight, inside-out view or deep-seated perception of themselves, people, life, major issues such as faith, spirituality, religion, love, marriage, family, and their concept or understanding of what reality is). 

Consider the Scripture text below.

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. (NKJV)

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he [in behavior—one who manipulates]. He says to you, “Eat and drink,” Yet his heart is not with you [but it is begrudging the cost]. (AMP)

For as he calculates in his soul, so he is. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you. (LSB)

Proverbs 23:7

The all-important question that determines who a person really is and progressively grows into is this: 

Have they truly seen Christ in His True Person, Nature and Work on the Cross; and are they constantly beholding Him in The Scripture and in prayer?

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith."

Perception is the defining quality of personality. 

It is the core quality of being. 

It is a faculty or function of the heart. 

In the believer, the heart has been illuminated by the Light of God's Truth. 

It is where True Faith is born. 

It is where True Conversion happens. 

It is the awakening of, or bringing to life, the spirit of man to the "Reality of God": His Holiness, Power, Love, Wisdom and Fatherhood. 

"Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit."

It is rebirth; that is, spiritual birth.

Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 AMP)

It is the eyes of the heart being opened. 

The giving of spiritual sight to the spiritually blind. 

It is the giving of spiritual life by God's Spirit (the Spirit of Life) to the spiritually dead.

It is "Christ dwelling in our hearts through faith."

Below is an excerpt from a teaching resource by John Piper on Regeneration, which is titled That Which Is Born of the Spirit Is Spirit (The Role of the Holy Spirit in Conversion):

"John 3 verse 6 gives the reason why a second spiritual birth is necessary: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."

We come into the world bent on being independent from God and loving the things of the world. Something has to happen to us if we are to be saved from the wrath of God (1 Thessalonians 1:10). We must be profoundly changed.

From cover to cover the Bible declares that human beings must change. If we do not change, we will not be saved: no peace with God, no hope for eternal life, but only wrath and fury (Romans 2:8). So there is nothing more important for any individual than that he experience this change, this new birth, as Jesus called it.

So Jesus is saying here, your human birth makes you merely human. But when you are born of the Spirit, then a new dimension of supernatural life enters in, spiritual life. New loves, new inclinations, new allegiance. A new person is born.

Paul's terms for the person before and after new birth are "natural man" and "spiritual man." He says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, 15,

The natural man does not welcome the gifts of the Spirit of God for they are folly to him... The spiritual man judges all things but is himself to be judged by no one.

So Jesus and Paul are saying essentially the same thing: that which is born of the flesh is a natural man (a person with no spiritual inclinations or receptivity to the things of God), and that which is born of the Spirit is a spiritual man (who loves the things of God)."

Let's close with God's Promise of Salvation:

"I will give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them; I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26)

To God be the glory.