Christian Living

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I came home one afternoon to eat my lunch. It was so beautiful outside that I sat on the back porch to eat. I looked over the back yard, which was covered in dandelions. Normally I would think of the fact that these were common weeds that needed to be exterminated. If not, they spread all over the place and take over. But this day I just sat and stared at them, remembering how I used to see them as a child. As a child, they were not weeds, but were flowers. The girls used to pick them and would put them in their hair. Sometimes we would make a bouquet of them and take them to our mothers. Our mothers always reacted with delight that we had brought them such cheerful and pretty flowers. And when they turned into those seed things, we used to love to pick them and blow them across the yard. Of course that would drive the neighbor nuts because we were blowing weed seeds onto his manicured lawn. But to use, we were blowing clouds across the yard that would peacefully float away.
Somewhere along the way, I had lost the appreciation for the simple beauty of these little bits of sunshine throughout the yard. It takes the eyes of a child to appreciate them. I guess in some way we are like dandelions. There is a bright sunny beauty in us that comes from the light of the Son. But in order to see and appreciate that beauty, we must see with the eyes of a child. Reality looks different in the eyes of a child. That is what part of kingdom life is all about.

"And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all. And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them (Mark 10:13-16)."

Children don't see weeds, they see flowers. As believers, we don't see obstacles, we see challenges. We don't see problems, we see opportunities. We don't see road blocks, we see possibilities. With the Philippians 4:8 attitude coupled with the Gospel of Christ, we become like the little seeds that spread all over the place. A storm can try and blow us over and overcome us, but all that does is spread us out further. All it does is strengthen us.

The world may not like it. They may call us nothing more than weeds that need to be weeded out, but the gates of Hades will never prevail against the Kingdom of God. So don't be ashamed if the world calls us a weed. In God's eyes we are not weeds. We are his instrument to spread his good news all around our family and friends, in our neighborhoods, schools, on the job, and anywhere we happen to be.

(Visit my web site at www.epreacher.org)

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