How often do you give thanks for the people in your life? Are you thankful you have family, friends, co-workers, and disciples you attend church with? Is your faith growing in Jesus Christ? Is your love for the people in your life increasing? Are you seeing them as Jesus sees them?
We often take people for granted. We interact with them, visit with them, work side-by-side, and become accustomed to them being there. Even though we shouldn’t, we assume they will always be there, or at least for as far into the future as we can see.
Though many of us will say we are not guaranteed tomorrow, we don’t typically live that way. We plan for tomorrow, next week, months ahead, and sometimes years ahead. It is wise for us to plan ahead. Yet, we also must live in the moment. We must realize there are no guarantees. We should appreciate the people who are with us. And we should let them know.
We also should be growing our faith. We do that by reading and studying God’s Word and recognizing God working in our lives. We experience God every day, though we often do not identify it. God works through every situation, evening using what we call bad situations for our good.
As we recognize God working in our lives, we should also recognize God working in the lives of others. Seeing people as Jesus sees them will change our perspective. When we see each person as being made in the image of God, our love for them will increase. It is a challenge, at times, but it is very rewarding when we do so.
I pray we all are thankful for the people in our lives. I pray we continue to grow in our faith. I pray each one of us will see others as Jesus sees them and increase our love for them. Be thankful for the people in your life. Grow in your faith. See others as Jesus sees them. Increase your love for others.
2 Thessalonians 1:3 We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.
Marty Pressey 