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- Feb 9, 2004
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- 17,078
Wrappings - December 26, 2005
I have a friend who loves to wrap packages; Christmas, birthday, 4th of July- whatever! She does a wonderful job, and her packages are so pretty, I hesitate to open them. She takes great pains with paper and ribbon, tissue and stickers, making any present a delight to see! I love to receive packages from her because the exterior is so appealing and delightful to look at, and I almost hate to dig into the interior of the box and destroy the lovely wrapping.
How different this is from the way God looks at us. He does not care one single bit about the exterior wrapping; big, small, tall, thin or in between. God cares about the inside of the package: what is in our hearts. Trappings of outward beauty, of self or clothing don't impress God in the least.
It may be time to check what is inside our own personal containers, such as where our thoughts are centered, what the motivations of our lives and desires of our hearts are. God already knows the answers to these questions, so a soul searching would only bring enlightenment to ourselves. As the new year draws close, we may need to consider a new type of resolution. Rather than the usual "I will lose weight, update the house" or other outward resolutions, we may need to say, "I will allow God to use my mind, heart and body to live a life that is glorifying to Him".
Contributed by Marion Smith
I have a friend who loves to wrap packages; Christmas, birthday, 4th of July- whatever! She does a wonderful job, and her packages are so pretty, I hesitate to open them. She takes great pains with paper and ribbon, tissue and stickers, making any present a delight to see! I love to receive packages from her because the exterior is so appealing and delightful to look at, and I almost hate to dig into the interior of the box and destroy the lovely wrapping.
How different this is from the way God looks at us. He does not care one single bit about the exterior wrapping; big, small, tall, thin or in between. God cares about the inside of the package: what is in our hearts. Trappings of outward beauty, of self or clothing don't impress God in the least.
It may be time to check what is inside our own personal containers, such as where our thoughts are centered, what the motivations of our lives and desires of our hearts are. God already knows the answers to these questions, so a soul searching would only bring enlightenment to ourselves. As the new year draws close, we may need to consider a new type of resolution. Rather than the usual "I will lose weight, update the house" or other outward resolutions, we may need to say, "I will allow God to use my mind, heart and body to live a life that is glorifying to Him".
Contributed by Marion Smith
