When we see someone with a talent or gift we don’t have, it can feel really obvious. A friend of mine is really well-versed in all things history-related. I always feel like I’m learning something new around him, because he has a real gift for being excited about and teaching those things. And I really enjoy that, in part because I know it’s a release for him, and in part because it challenges me to listen and grow.
When we live in such a way that avoids gravitating to negativity and instead focuses on integrating God’s truth and love in our lives, it is really obvious. Just as people tend to flock to a bad attitude, there is an even greater attraction to real joy. So when this world sees a life that is content, fulfilled and hopeful, it will see the disparity between what they have and what they could have in Jesus.
The last four verses of Psalm 1 express the benefits that come with God-focused thinking. Prosperity of eternal value. Fulfilled life. Peace about the future.
Apart from God none of these are truly available, especially when trouble comes, when the real opportunities to get negative come along. But as Christians God has already given us by inheritance the gifts of faith, hope, and love (I Cor. 13:13). In other words, in by making Christ our focus, we are given the ability to exercise the difference God’s way offers. His life flowing through us, elevating our minds and hearts, and spreading it to others, makes all the difference in the world.
—Mark Knoles