As I walk into my daughter’s house, the girls come running to the door, saying, “Gran, Gran! Look! We’re playing dress up!” The girls will then model their latest outfit,
which is usually something real frilly and pretty, with all the accessories they can
find! They love their hair curled for
church on Sunday morning and delight in dressing in their “Sunday best” clothes,
wearing their shiny patent leather shoes with their nails painted to match what
they are wearing!
These same
little “girlie” girls enjoy having a bucket for digging or their “outside kitchen” with all the dishes filled
with sand, sticks (spoons and other utensils) for stirring, cups for drinking, and
leaves and pebbles placed across the plates for eating, while having dirt on
them from head to toe! They are extra
excited when the last rain left water in their cups or other containers so
they can make mud pies!
It doesn’t
matter to me whether these little ones are pristine clean, dainty and pretty or
completely covered in dirt; those little ones still claim my heart! That’s how it is with God, too.
God loves
all of us. He sent his Son, Jesus to
make us righteous in His sight. He can
take the “dirt” in our lives and cleanse us. To the rejected He offers acceptance. He
turns hate into love, darkness into light and passive indifference in to
positive purpose. To those suffering from isolation He offers inclusion. He takes
the coldness of life and wraps us in warmth.
These same
attributes displayed through God and His Son, is given to all of us, as
Believers, through the Holy Spirit. By
His power, we are able to demonstrate a godly life to someone in darkness, isolation,
rejection and a life filled with guilt and remorse from living a life defined
by evil.
Even as
Believers, however, there are times when we may all feel like we fit into one of those
categories because we have forgotten our “first love,” – the love of
Christ. We’ve been enticed by the world’s
allure and ventured down an unclean path on a spiritual journey of darkness. While we are in this darkness we can’t experience
God’s light in our lives. We are very susceptible
to feeling unclean, rejected, and isolated from God. Just as God forgives those who never knew
him, he forgives those who have known him, who make mistakes.
But it takes the realization we
have failed, to make a difference. It’s
when we reflect on our behaviors, actions, words, and motives and recognize God
knows all, that we can make a change. He will judge us according to
our good and our bad. He expects us to acknowledge
our failures, and genuinely repent. When
we can do this, we will experience his acceptance; sense him wrapping us in His
warmth, reviving our purpose, while turning our hearts to love and light.
What is your commitment to
traveling in The Light? Are you on a
Spirit filled journey with Christ or has the world enticed you to places you
never thought you’d venture? It’s a
brand new year, and a brand new day.
Begin your journey back.
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