Perspective

I had to smile at the following post on Facebook (shared with Tim’s permission)

Tim Pannabecker knows it's all a matter of perspective. Each morning I prod Seth along so we can get out the door on time. This morning we had this exchange: Me: Seth, stop messing around and get ready. Seth: I'm not messing around. I'm watching the garbage truck.

Don’t you just love kids?

But don’t we often do the same thing as adults? What seems so obvious to me, you might see in a totally different way. Oftentimes both of us are convinced that we are right – meaning that the other must be completely wrong.

Could it be that there is some truth in both viewpoints? Like my hubby is known to say, there are always three sides to every situation – your side, my side and the truth.

It takes honest communication with open hearts and open minds to discern the truth. That’s where it gets hard. And sometimes the best we can do is to agree to disagree.

On March 19-21, Bluffton will bring together scholars, church leaders and immigrants for a conference on immigration to facilitate some of this hard but necessary discussion. There are so many facets to this issue. What is right? What is ethical? How can we be faithful to Jesus' call to "Welcome the stranger"?

More than 25 workshops will be offered along with keynote addresses by M. Daniel Carroll Rodas and Baldemar Valesquez. More information and a registration form are available on the Bluffton Web site.

This conference is being offered as part of the university’s 2009-10 Civic Engagement Theme “Beyond Borders: The Role of Immigration in a Global Community.”

It never hurts to step back and view an issue from another’s perspective. You still might not agree in the end – but at least you’ll both have a new understanding.

And as we all know “The Truth Makes Free.”