The Beginning

Several months ago I watched an ugly worm crawling across the ground! That was the beginning of a thing. Now look at that insect with gorgeous wings, playing in the sunshine, sipping from the flowers, full of life; that is the end. That caterpillar is us, until we are wrapped up in the chrysalis of death; because when Christ shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Be content to be like the caterpillar who like Jesus, will be totally fulfilled when we wake up in his likeness. The end will be much better than the beginning.

“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”

Ecclesiastes_7:8  KJV

Look at Jesus; see his beginning. He was despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The end is He now sits at his Father’s right hand, until his enemies are made his footstool. If we never bear the cross, we will never wear the crown; we must walk on the dirt road, or we will never walk the golden streets. We can take courage because “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.”

A rough-looking diamond is placed on the wheel of the jeweler. He cuts it on all sides. It loses a lot of what felt very costly to itself. But when the king is crowned; the diadem is put on his head with all its’ shining glory. Light will flash from the very diamond which at this moment is very unhappy with the filing and polishing of the Jeweler’s tools. We can compare ourselves to a diamond like that, because we are one of God’s people; and right now we are in the cutting process. Exercise faith and patience, because on the day when the crown is placed on the head of the King of kings… there will be flashes of glory streaming from us. God said, “They shall be mine, in the day when I make up my jewels.”

Let’s be excited about the beginning of a New Year. It is a reminder that we are still in time. The day is coming when time will be no more. The end will always be better for a follower of Christ. Better is the end of a thing than the beginning.

Alvin Yoder

12/30/2012

Attitude

Our attitude determines our altitude. I don’t know who coined that phrase, but I have seen the reality of it often over a lifetime. It’s not our aptitude, but our attitude that has the most powerful effect on all of our relationships. When we realize that, wisdom would tell us to spend more time learning to direct our thoughts, instead of our outward skills. A person’s attitude is more important than a clean face. Our attitude is more important than the color of our skin. Our attitude is more important than the part of the country we are living. In today’s passage of the Bible we are instructed to have the same attitude that Jesus had. The Greek word for attitude is phroneō.  It means… “to direct one’s mind”.  Jesus never focused on the color of his skin, or his outward skills. Jesus directed his mind toward encouragement, love, compassion, joy, harmony, unselfishness, being interested in other people. We are commanded to have this same attitude.

“Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”

Philippians 2:5 GNB

When we put our thoughts in neutral, like our vehicles they tend to go roll downhill. One songwriter wrote about our bent toward leaving the God we love. We need to learn to “direct our thoughts” away from discouragement to encouragement. We need to direct our thoughts away from our own interests to the interests of others. We can direct our thoughts away from depression to joy…which is defined as cheerfulness in the Strong’s Concordance.

Eddie made living selling balloons at a fair. He had many colors of balloons including red, yellow, and green. Whenever business got slow, he would release a helium filled balloons into the air. When children saw the balloons go up, they all wanted to buy one. It would always increase his sales. One day, Eddie felt something tugging his jacket. A little boy asked him, “If you let go of a black balloon, would that also fly?” Eddie said, “Son, it is not the color of the balloon, it is what’s inside that makes it go up.”

The same thing applies to our lives. It is what is inside that counts. It is what goes on inside of us that makes us go uphill, spiritually speaking. What makes us go up is our attitude. God’s Holy Spirit lives inside of us. He can give us the power to direct our thoughts in the same way as Jesus Christ did. It will always take us up when we release this kind of an attitude.

Alvin Yoder

12/28/2012