Think on These Things: Positive thoughts in a negative world…
Primary colors are colors in their own right. In other words, they cannot be generated through the mixing of other colors. The basic primary colors are considered to be red, yellow, and blue. However, when we look at the world around us we see more colors than these. Amazingly, God has taken these basic colors and created a multicolored, multifaceted world. We have rich, brilliant, dynamic, and vibrant tones mixed with muted, soft, and subdued hues. Light and shadows are added to produce variances. God knew that a limited palette would be boring, so He created contrast.
God in His infinite wisdom also allows contrast in our lives. The range of emotions He has given us adds texture to our existence. Like a fine tapestry, our lives are woven with a mixture of joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, happiness and despair, peace and turmoil, jubilation and grief, success and struggle, faith and doubt, and so on. We can’t really appreciate the good times unless we’ve experienced some bad times.
This is true of every aspect of our lives. Food is more delicious if we have known hunger. Sleep is more blissful if we have worked hard. A drink of water is more quenching if we’ve been dehydrated. Friendship is more valued if we’ve been lonely. Dawn is more beautiful if we’ve lived through the darkness. Life is more precious if we’ve seen death.
We come to know God and appreciate Him more fully because we don’t live a one dimensional life filled with just the pleasantries we want. Through adversities, we learn to walk by faith, not by sight. We learn to trust God and rest in Him. We learn to hear God’s voice and feel His presence. We experience the peace that passes understanding and the comfort of God’s love. We come to know that God’s grace is sufficient for us. Only in our weakness can we acknowledge and rely on God’s strength (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10).
It’s true that we live in a multicolored world full of contrasting hues, tones, and shades. God designed it that way so we could more fully appreciate Him as Creator. I think God also allows contrasts in our lives so we can more fully appreciate Him as our Lord and Savior.
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“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” ~Philippians 4:8 (KJV)