Tell Me Again

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:19-23 ESV). A week or so ago was one of “those weeks.” Starting with a kidney stone attack on Monday and ending with two surgeries to remove a very large stone, you could say it just wasn’t my week! Several times during the week I began to look through some of my old pictures to my Texas deer lease! Those thoughts seemed to make the rest of the week a lot better. Since I love the outdoors, it just made the rest of the week go better when I began to remember the things I saw when I was there. It's amazing that how one views the world depends on what is happening in one's life. When pain and turmoil dominate your life, the world appears dull, lifeless, and carries little or no meaning. People appear selfish, cold, and uncaring. But when one's life is filled with peace and joy, suddenly the world seems a brighter place. Life takes on meaning and you have a sense of hope. You feel that, no matter what happens, everything will be okay. You no longer focus on the negative in your fellow man, but instead, see their acts of caring, giving, and love. Those who cross your path are no longer viewed as strangers but likened unto brothers and sisters, deserving of kindness and respect. I can recall a line in the hymn, Amazing Grace: "was blind but now I see!" Inviting God into your life can color your world in ways you never thought possible! First and foremost, a heart once blackened with sin can be made pure through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Focusing on God's word and will gives one a totally new outlook because we are no longer the same, but are His new creations. Whatever you put into your life will come out of your life. Fill your body, mind, and heart with sin and expect no good to come out of it. Fill up on God's living word and your world will be forever changed! What it all boils down to is this, how you perceive the world depends on whether God is in or out of your life. Let God color your world like only He can! Listen to Jesus again: Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be! Don’t settle for darkness. Let the light in to your life today!