Today, Make a Choice for Beauty

After a chaotic day (month?) yesterday, despite having a busy evening ahead, I went home in the afternoon and did some physical labor for a couple of hours. The hum of the mower gave me a break from the stuff that swirled around me. When things feel like they are out of control, I like to mow grass! Getting my lawn done gives a momentary sense of accomplishment. (You amateur psychologists can have some fun with that, right?)  Giving attention to my lawn on a weekly basis is a source of happiness to me and yields a desired result – an attractive home.

No amount of wishing, hoping, or talking can make my lawn attractive. It demands weekly work, applied efforts – and something beyond my control – the sun and the rain. In a similar way, an ordered Christian life, a character filled with Christ’s beauty demands our daily attention and the work of the Spirit in us. Faith that survives the chaos is built by doing the small things that honor Him. Only then, will we obey Him in the crisis!

Is your life filled with chaos, unfinished business, unresolved conflict – all growing like weeds?  If so, it is time to make a new choice, to begin to live “on purpose.”  The chaos can be turned into beauty  - one choice, one day, at a time. Of course, we cannot control everything!  Storms and sickness visit us uninvited despite our best preparations and preventatives! However, those who have learned to walk with God are much better equipped to deal with those surprises, even to learn from them! Theirs is a faith that is anchored in God’s unwavering providence. He says, "I am God, the only God you’ve had or ever will have— incomparable, irreplaceable— From the very beginning telling you what the ending will be, All along letting you in on what is going to happen, Assuring you, ‘I’m in this for the long haul, I’ll do exactly what I set out to do. " (Isaiah 46:9-10, The Message)  And, from His promise, we gain inspiration to make a choice for beauty – of heart, character, mind- all of life!

Christian, two extremes tend to attract us. Some assume all the responsibility for living a life that is pleasing to God, creating crushing burdens of perfectionism. Such persons become obsessed with religious rules to point of slavery, living joylessly, and often in the grip of hypocrisy because they cannot admit their failures even to themselves! Some choose to be irresponsible, thinking that the Spirit will do all the work.  They accomplish little for God because their lives are marked by chaos that results from the lack of sustained discipline that creates pathways for the Spirit, that lead to growth and greatness. The interdependence of our daily choice and God’s Spirit are nowhere any more clear than in Romans 8 where we read - "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. … Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. …  Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. … Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:1-2, 5, 12-13, NIV)

Here's a practical word from the Word. Prayerfully read it, understanding that it is not a suggestion, but a Divine Imperative.
"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.
Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing.
Then the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9, NLT)
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Lord God, I desire that my life will be a beautiful garden-
filled with the fruit of the Spirit-
holy and pleasing in Your sight;
that reflects the Order of Your Holy Nature.

Help me to make the choice, today;
to follow You, to say "yes" to the Spirit.
Renew the passion for godliness in me.
Help me to choose wisely the places
where my thoughts linger,
to discipline my mind and heart to remain in the Light,
so that Your will becomes my delight.

In Jesus' name. Amen.