While I'm still far from normal--some would say I never have been--I'm attempting to move forward after losing my sweet bride. Truth is, I have some pretty good days & some that are purely awful but GOD sees fit to send people my way to uplift and encourage me still the same. The following seems rather random to me, but it's been percolating in my head for a few days now so I decided to put my thoughts down & see if it spoke to anyone. Here goes...
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:11 NKJV
Often we bounce along down the rough & rocky road of life, making mistakes and bad choices along the way. One bad decision seems to lead to another, and then to another. Suddenly, we begin to feel as if we deserve nothing good in life because our view of ourselves becomes distorted. We see ourselves as worthless--unworthy of of the blessings GOD so desires to bestow upon us. Instead of accepting the beautiful rose He offers from His garden, we're content with a few wildflowers from along the roadside or worse yet--just a patch of weeds.
The rose is a symbol of all things bright and beautiful--the gifts He has in store for us if we open ourselves completely to His Will, follow His commands and live a Christian life. The wildflowers are the things we allow to distract us and cause us to detour from GOD's path for our lives--a consolation prize if you will. We accept them because we think we are undeserving of good things from His hand, or in an attempt to be humble. GOD wants to give us His best, but because we can't boldly accept that--we shorthange ourselves, and in doing so, shortchange GOD in the process. Sometimes, we sell ourselves short (and GOD as well) and are content to wallow in the weeds. The weeds are the useless things of the world--trash, if you will.
The problem there is that, in being content with the weeds, we live more like the world than as Christians and damage our testimony as well as the Kingdom of GOD in the process. If we're OK with the weeds, why would lost people have any desire to become Christians? They see us living just like them with the exception of calling ourselves Christians. If Christianity is simply seen as a set of rules that heap guilt on a person--well, why would anyone want that?
It's time we, as Christians, tend to our gardens and get rid of the weeds in our lives as referred to in Galatians 5:19-21 which states, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." We need to stop being distracted by weeds & wildflowers and start cultivating GOD's beautiful roses. We should take Him at His Word and live our lives accordingly, seeking out the gifts He has for us and blessing others along the way.
I know I've been guilty of wallowing in the weeds and contenting myself with wildflowers as well as doing things on my own rather than asking for GOD's guidance & direction. Where are you? Among the weeds, the wildflowers, or are you pruning the rosebushes in anticipation of a beautiful bloom?
Blessings!
Tony
No comments:
Post a Comment