Isaiah 6:8

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Monday, October 4, 2010

Oh I Love the Colors of Fall



I am one of many people are drawn to fall colors. Fall colors are warm, vibrant, extraordinarily rich, and energetic. So today I am sitting here at my desk, listening to the droning of my intern, and wondering.....just  how appealing am I as a Christian?   Are others drawn to me because I am a warm, vibrant, and inviting person?  I certainly hope so.  My favorite of the fall colors would have to be red.
There's just something about the trees that are full of red leaves glistening in the sun. It's just extraordinary. They stick out and you notice them.  I am already watching them closely.  Some are starting to show out.  Red is vibrant, firey....and it even brings up the thought of passion. No matter where we are in our Christian walk, I think we all could do with a little more passion for Christ.
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16   My second favorite color is orange. The color orange is so beautiful in the fall. We see it in not just the fall leaves, in athletic jersies of many college teams, and in those beautiful pumpkins I saw yesterday at the Pumpkin Patch. Orange reflects warmth and symbolizes thoughtfulness and sincerity. As Christians that's something we should portray. We should be that warm inviting person that cares about others.  That is what I want to be!  "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."  Ephesians 4:32.  One of my lesser favorite colors is yellow.  Yellow is bright....and should make me happy...but it doesn't.  The color yellow conjures up joy and cheerfulness. If we aren't cheerful as Christians....who is going to want what we have?  If we have Christ, we should have joy in our hearts and that joy should reflect out through us...we should be YELLOW people.   It's listed right there in Galatians along with the other fruit of the spirit that we should be bearing. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,gentleness, goodness, faith,Meekness, temperance:against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23.  I have noticed this fall that in Rock Mills, AL I am seeing a color I don't normally notice during the fall.    This year there are some trees in the woods around my house that are turning shades of purple. Let me tell you that the leaves I have been noticing in the purple family are gorgeous. I love the color of  purple because it is the color of royalty. As Christians, we are royalty in Christ. Our behavior should reflect that royalty. Mine sometimes resembles a spoiled rotten royalty.....hummmm may need to work on that one.  "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8:16,17   Even the color brown is very warm and inviting in fall.  If we didn't have all that brown in the midst of the bright fall colors, I doubt if they'd be so brilliant. Brown represents stability and it anchors all those other beautiful colors of fall. In Christ, we have our anchor. Others can see if we are living for Christ and depending on Him in our lives. It comes out in our actions and behavior. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7  So let me remind you today that showing Christ through our behavior is mega+ important in our witness to others . Our "colors" do matter. How we act and behave is what people see when they look at us. I hope I grow to have a beautiful, warm, and inviting life in Christ. I don't want Christianity to be hid from the world because of me. I want to portray vibrancy and warmth so that people will want to get to know me and learn about Christ through me.
So, let me ask you this fall Monday afternoono.....just what colors are you projecting?

1 comment:

Mary said...

I'm with you on yellow. My kitchen is yellow, but I'm not a "yellow" person in general. Love the brown, orange, and red colors of fall!