Former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, spent 35 years with the United Nations organization. Although shadowed by controversy and scandal, he became known as an evenhanded man with an ability to see the parts and the whole at the same time. He recalled an unforgettable lesson learned in his native Ghana at age 17:

“One day our headmaster walked into the classroom and put up a broad white sheet of paper with a small black dot in the corner. ‘Boys,’ he asked, ‘what do you see?’ All of us shouted in unison, ‘A black dot!’ Then he said, ‘So not a single one of you saw the broad white sheet of paper? Don’t go through life with that attitude.’.”

When we were of the world, we only saw what was in front of us and what we wanted and thought we needed. But when we came to Christ, we stepped into an understanding of another dimension: a spirtiual dimension. We saw (or should see) a much bigger picture in everything we do. We look beyond the dot to see the white paper as well.

Tags: Kofi Annan, purpose, vision