Ornaments

I read this post from Julia today on StreamLiving. I realize I had many ornaments I did not unbox and put out this year. Some are tarnished and quite honestly I just love them bc they are so old, from hubby's childhood. They remind me of my elders, who carry so much wisdom, but are often ignored bc they are not so polished anymore. The young people overlook them many times bc they think they are too hip/cool/with-it to bother with their elders. Many of their attitudes is "what could that ole' person teach me?"

An Ornament for Christ by Julia Bettencourt

When we think of Christmas ornaments, something beautiful usually comes to mind. Shiny, bright, glistening, sparkling, and pretty are just a few words we use to describe them. The dictionary meaning from Webster says that an ornament is "anything serving to adorn; decoration; embellishment."

How well do we embellish the body of Christ?

"But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. " I Peter 3:4

Everything we say and do comes from our heart. Just like a Christmas ornament, hanging on a tree, our lives are dangling out there for others to see. How well do we embellish, adorn, and serve the body of Christ?

What type of ornament are you?

A Tarnished Ornament.

Have you seen those Christmas ornaments that are beautiful, you pick them up and all the paint, and glitter comes off in your hand? Are you that way? Have you been rubbed the wrong way a few times? Maybe you've been slighted by another Christian or had a disagreement with a friend and never made up with them. That paint and glitter has come rolling off you and your heart life shows signs of wear.

An Ugly Ornament.

There are just some ornaments that are just that, plain ugly! You may not be ugly on the outside but inside there's some sad ugliness. Got an ugly attitude? Do you speak ugly words? Do you wear ugly expressions? Do you just reflect ugliness? These types of ornaments hang on the tree all by themselves because nobody wants to be around them.

A Broken Ornament.

Are you broken and falling apart? Some people just radiate the fact that their life has problems. In reality we all have problems but we all don't wear those problems as our wardrobe like some. We get our lives all broken and falling apart because we don't have our priorities in the right place or we don't depend on Christ as we should. In turn we get cracked and broken because we're trying to hold ourselves together on our own.

A Packed Away Ornament.

These ornaments no longer are useful and are packed away in a box, put up in the attic or a shelf in the closet and are never used again. Got some dust on you? Can you feel the cobwebs just crisscrossing your spiritual life? Stopped reading your Bible? Stopped praying? Stopped witnessing? This type of ornament scares me the most. Never doing anything for Christ. Not only would it be a boring life but it would also be such an unhappy and lonely one as well.

A Perfect Ornament.

This is the type of ornament we all would like to strive to be. The kind that builds up the body of Christ and reflects all that is lovely. An ornament that beautifies and adorns.
"An ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price"

We can choose how we embellish and adorn the body of Christ by how we act as a reflection of what's in our hearts. Today, ask yourself: How am I hanging?