The Best Things in Life...

"The best things in life, aren't things."

Yesterday, while Fathers' Day shopping, I saw a little wooden sign with that phrase on it.

And I read it, and thought about how good of a phrase it was.

But is it really?

Is it really what I base my life on?

Do I worry about all of my "things"?

Sadly...my answers are "No, Yes."

"The best things in life, aren't things."

It's easy to read it, like it, and put it as a Facebook status, but do I really just want to be "all bark, no bite"?

I want to be the girl who has 6 shirts, and still feels blessed.

I want to always remember that nothing on this earth will ever last.

I want to love Jesus more than anything that I have/will ever have.

I want to give all (maybe not all...I'm still working on this one ) my possessions and bless someone else with them.

Last Sunday at church, our pastor  said something along the lines of, "When you die it ALL goes away. I've never seen a U-Haul driving behind a hearse."

If when we die it all goes away, then what is the point of worrying about how many nice things we have while we are on earth?

Earthly things will never be able to satisfy us, only eternal things can.

The best things are eternal.

Eternal life, love, peace, kindness, forgiveness, joy...

Eternity.

This morning, I was reading my Daily Devotional, and it was about a topic that is sort of hard to follow through with:

Loving our enemies.

"First, read Luke 6:27-36.

To become a disciple of Jesus, is to live according to the world view, perspective, insight, and value system of the kingdom of God. Basically, this means we must show others the kindness and mercy that God has shown us. 
We need to do our best to intentionally love our enemies who are difficult to forgive.God is merciful and kind. God gave His only Son, Jesus, for me when I didn't know God's grace, while I was a sinner and ungodly."

-Quiet Time Ministry

Sometimes, it is hard to love the people who don't act loving to us, but we need to. 

If you find someone hard to get along with, or a little on the rude side, or even just not very lovable, that is okay! 

Everyone meets somebody that they just do not get along with, but you need to pray for him/her and show them all the love that you can.

Think of it as a person, who has a broken leg.

Their broken leg will never heal unless given the proper treatment. 

Broken bones take time to heal, and so does a cold heart.

A doctor can set a bone and put you in a cast, but only Jesus can melt a cold heart.

If you have someone in your life who might be an enemy, then the best medicine for them is love, prayer, and Jesus.

Jesus loved everyone who He happened to cross paths with. 

To become more like Jesus,

 we should pray for our enemies, and be happy when good things happen to them. I know this is a hard concept to follow through with, but it is worth it in the end, 

when the love of Jesus shines through us.

Devotional for today:

I WANT YOU TO BE ALL MINE, filled with the Light of My Presence. I gave everything for you by living as a man, then dying for your sins and living again. Hold back nothing from Me. Bring your most secret thoughts into the Light of My Love. Anything you bring to Me I transform and cleanse from darkness. I know everything about you, far more than you know of yourself. But I restrain my yearning to "fix" you, waiting instead for you to come to me for help. Imagine the divine restraint this requires, for I have all Power in heaven and on earth....
(Matthew 28:18; Psalm 100:4)
 ~ Sarah Young ~

I came to a few realizations after I reread this a second time. First, God, who has all Power in heaven and on earth, wants us to go to Him for help. He could "fix" us anytime he wants to but He restrains so that we will call out to Him. Second, God sounds like a best friend. "Bring your most secret thoughts into the Light of My Love...I know everything about you, far more than you know of yourself." He wants us to be His! Isn't that amazing?! The King of Kings wants us to be His children! That's incredible! And the last realization, one that is so easily forgotten, is that God is the ONLY one who can "fix" you. No one else. That's how powerful He is! Wow, he loves us so much...