Luke 12:25-28
“Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
For several years, a couple of my closest friends and I exchanged Christmas gifts. As circumstances changed in our lives, children came along, and we got busier, it became harder to get together… especially during the holidays. Before long, picking out gifts for each other was more of a chore than a blessing. The year I took a simple gift to one of these friends and her family… and she reciprocated with a lavish gift certificate to a local specialty store… I said, “No more!” We are not doing this out of love for each other as much as a made-up obligation to reciprocate.
This was the last year we exchanged Christmas gifts. And I can tell you, we both love each other as much as ever. The only thing that has changed is that we stopped worrying about appearances and started caring more about the heart and what makes us friends in the first place. Sure, we’ve exchanged some gifts over the years that we will both treasure. But our friendship is not defined by material objects. I am not her friend because of a Christmas Santa I gave her one Christmas… or the holiday decoration I bought for with her gift certificate. It’s far more important to me to know that I can pick up the phone and call her anytime, and she will be there for me in whatever way I need.
We worry so much about appearances… what will this person think… will we be under-dressed/over-dressed… will they like our gift… did we do enough… did we say the right thing (or the wrong thing)… whether people will think we are a good person – or a bad one! What we need to concentrate on is being the best that God created us to be… in all aspects of our life. We need to be the best disciple… the best friend… the best parent/grandparent/aunt/uncle/cousin/sibling… the best student/teacher/coach/mentor - or the best worker…the best community supporter… even the best patient when we are sick! Whatever God puts before us… whatever situation we find ourselves in at the moment… we should focus on being the most stellar example of a Godly creation that we can be.
I don’t know where you find yourself these days. I have no clue what challenges, frustrations, obstacles, joys, hopes and dreams you have. But I know that God wants you to concentrate on being YOU… to serve HIM… and to stand tall like the most beautiful wildflower in the field – because in His eyes, you are!
What sort of “flower” will you be today? Will you worry and fret about what others think and how you appear? Will you be a shabby “flower” in one of God’s fields… or will you be spectacular?
©2012 Debbie Robus
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