Between The Ditches

May 13, 2016 / The WheatandTares / 3 Comments

I wanted to do one more Daily Post tonight, and as I began thinking about the word, “Survive,” this post that I wrote last year came to mind. I hope you won’t mind me reshaping rather than trying to come up with a different “survive” post. I think this pretty well sums it up for me. 😉

OCTOBER 26, 2015 / THE WHEATANDTARES

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We were driving behind this guy one day who seemed very preoccupied with everything except the one thing he needed to be focused on: driving. He turned around to talk to his backseat passenger. He looked down for something. He reached over into the front passenger seat for something else. The whole time, he was swerving from the yellow line to the white line, back and forth, time and time again.

It made me think of our personal lives with Christ. Sometimes, I think we can find ourselves driving the road of life simply keeping it between the ditches. We can survive this way. We can definitely make it to heaven, keeping our lives just barely beyond the boundaries of sin, and, yes, especially when we are just getting into this thing, it takes learning and growing to set those boundaries strong and true.

However, when we consistently live our lives simply with the mentality, “How much can I get away with and still make it to heaven?,” I wonder if we truly THRIVE in our Christian walk. I wonder if we can have as much impact as when we set our standards higher and start living life victoriously…

I believe God has called us to live thriving to seek more of Him and less of us. I believe He would have us thriving in this life, paving the path for those around us to find Him. I believe He would have us to live victoriously, mountaintop to mountaintop.

This doesn’t mean we never encounter temptations, we never drop down into the valleys. After all, the only way to move from one mountain top to the next is by going through the valley or across the ridge. We can’t just hop from one to another. We will face low points at some time.

However, the difference I’m talking about is just like the driver that we found ourselves behind that day. He had a choice to drive straight, to take the curves wisely and to not hinder, or even scare the life out of, the on coming traffic due to his distractions. He lacked focus of the main thing he needed to be doing: driving!

We, as Christians, are called to a higher place, to live a better way. After all, Jesus told us, “…But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light…” 1Peter 2:9

*I do not own or possess this picture. Found on Google images: http://www.equipmentworld.com

Daily Prompt: SURVIVAL
Survival

What Do You See?

May 13, 2016May 15, 2016 / The WheatandTares

It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see

-D.H.Thoreau

Sometimes, your vision is everything…

What do you see when you look at people? What do you see when you are in the middle of chaos? What do you see when you are surrounded by those who have less than you or, maybe, who have more? What do you look at? What do you envision?

What you see makes up who you are. If you always see negative, you will tend to be a negative person. If you see hopelessness and despair, you are, most likely, a fearful person and you will have a tendency to either run away from problems or avoid anything that might appear a challenge. Yet, if you see hope and strength, you will have a tendency to be a fighter, a person who doesn’t give up too easily. If you see love and prosperity, you will tend to seek out those with whom you have camaraderie and with whom you can succeed.

What you see will determine where you end up in life. If you don’t see success, you’ll never achieve it. If you don’t see possibilities, you’ll never try. If you don’t see faith and integrity in others, you’ll never learn to trust and open up to another person. In order to have a dream realized, you must first see the goals needed to get to the dream. In order to have a goal achieved, you must first see the first step that is needed. In order to start on that path, you must be able to see those around you who can help you and guide you learn to walk.

You can look at people all day every day, but if you don’t see them, you’ll never be able to reach them, and you’ll never be able to learn from them. You can look at the places people go, or the successes they have and wish you were there; however, if you don’t see the sacrifices they made to get there, you will never know the cost you’ll need to pay. You’ll never see how many steps it will take, whom you will need to help and how long it may take to arrive.

What do you see?

Daily Prompt: VISION

Vision