Yes believe or not, it is not Christmas yet, I know the year has been flying but yes it is only June and Yes! The theme is “Ornaments—made to hang around.”
What do you picture in your mind when the word ornament is mentioned or read? Something shiny, bright, glittery, and decorative.
In looking at this theme I have had some differing thoughts. Hmmm … ornaments -useless things that I have to dust but then on reflection, ornaments … beautiful decorative additions that give sparkle to the area around them.
"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)
In 1st Samuel it is talking about how we judge the outward appearance but pay no attention to the condition of the heart. Here we are being warned not to worry about how we/others look on the outside, but to be more careful about our “heart condition”.
Outward appearance wasn't the issue here. It was how we adorn our hearts. Don't be so concerned about the external, because our family, friends, and the people we meet will be looking at our hearts - how we act, live, and behave. That is the adornment they see. Everything we say and do comes from our heart.
Just like a Christmas ornament hanging on a tree, our lives are dangling out there for others to see. How well do we embellish, adorn, and serve the body of Christ?
There are many types of ornaments we can be.
A Brittle Ornament—Like one of those Ornaments that appear beautiful, but when touched, the paint and glitter comes off on the hand. Are you like that? Have you been rubbed up the wrong way, or someone’s said something that’s upset you and you’ve haven’t forgiven them?
A Broken Ornaments. How do you cope with your problems—are they your “badge of honor” and need to be shared with all so others can never see the beauty of Jesus in You? All of us go thru trials but it is how we use them to make us grow that gives us the victory. We can be broken and brittle but we need to allow God to be the glue that holds us together.
A Forgotten Ornament—Are you one of those that doesn’t look as good as it used to. Got a chip here or there? Your Christian walk is not on track as it used to be—stopped reading your Bible, praying, not going to church as often, you consider yourself a Christian but that’s not what your heart is reflecting? All of us come up against all manner of situations that cause us not to be the person that God wants of us.
A Christ-like Ornament—One who radiates the beauty of Christ in everything we do and say?
May we each be “An ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price".
We can choose how we make the body of Christ more beautiful by how we act as a reflection of what's in our hearts. As Christians, we are each some kind of ornament, whether it be broken, forgotten, brittle or beautiful.
How are you hanging?
Adapted from thoughts by J Beftencourt
0 comments:
Post a Comment