This weekend is an estate sale at the home of my ailing grandmother back in Salem, Oregon. What has generated so much interest is her incredible paintings, as my grandmother is an extraordinarily gifted artist. While at first it made me sad to think of them being dispersed, they are not inteded to be put into storage. They belong displayed in the homes of others, touching the hearts of many she'll never even know. Well...we are God's paintings. He did not transform us from darkness to light to be hidden, but to display Jesus to the world. And when we shine the light of Christ, you may never know the hearts and homes you will touch in the years to come.
#SetYourMindAbovePodcast
This weekend is an estate sale at the home of my ailing grandmother back in Salem, Oregon. What has generated so much interest is her incredible paintings, as my grandmother is an extraordinarily gifted artist. While at first it made me sad to think of them being dispersed, they are not inteded to be put into storage. They belong displayed in the homes of others, touching the hearts of many she'll never even know. Well...we are God's paintings. He did not transform us from darkness to light to be hidden, but to display Jesus to the world. And when we shine the light of Christ, you may never know the hearts and homes you will touch in the years to come.
#SetYourMindAbovePodcast
Hey everybody, and welcome back to the Set Your Mind Above Podcast! I’m your host BJ Sipe – I’m a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father. In this podcast we take everyday, ordinary events and explore how they can teach us extraordinary, eternal truths. I’m so glad that you joined me for this episode. Now, let’s open up our minds, our hearts, and our Bible’s together.
This weekend is a tough one for me emotionally in several ways. So, for our frequent listeners, you might remember how a few months ago back in December I went back to Oregon to visit with my grandmother who is ailing. She has suffered with Parkinson’s for years, and after several strokes has gone from being able to live independently in her own home now to a private full assistance and care home. I can’t imagine how frustrating this move has been for her. I remember her telling my mother during that trip, “Everything just keeps getting smaller - from a house, to an apartment, to a single room.” Unfortunately, at this point there is absolutely no hope for her to be able to return to her own home and live there. As such, what they have decided to do is hold an estate sale in preparation for the selling of that property, and use those funds to go toward her ongoing medical expenses. My family along with many Christians in the Salem area have worked their fingers to the bone getting everything ready for this weekend. Estate sales always generate quite a bit of traffic, but in this case there is one thing in particular that has garnered a great deal of interest from folks all over the nation in fact who have seen advertisement: and that is my grandmothers collection of paintings. And no, I don’t mean paintings she has collected over the years as an art connoisseur, I mean to say that my grandmother is one of the most talented artists I have ever seen. She is a prize-winning artist, having painted for the majority of her life until in these most recent years she has not been able to do so. I have some of her paintings and of course set some more aside for myself in the future – I have such an attachment to them not just because of how beautiful they are, but because of who made them. They inspire me because they remind me of this wonderful, godly woman and the selfless way that she has taught and served so many people in her life. So, at first, the idea of complete strangers coming in and purchasing some of her paintings really bothered me, thinking that they would not appreciate what they were actually bringing home. But that’s when my attitude changed as I started reading some of the comments. People started chiming in, saying they couldn’t believe how magnificent these different pieces were, and how special it would be for them to be able to bring one of those home and display it in their own homes for all to see. Pretty soon others started to comment with pictures of paintings they had acquired from my grandmother decades ago, about how special it was to them and how it had inspired so many people as it hung in their home. At this point my heart lifted, and I started to see a much more beautiful picture. You see, my grandmother put years of work into these beautiful pieces, most of which will now be dispersed. While there are many who she knows that will bring her art into their homes, there are also a great many who she will never know that will do the same. Who would have thought that what she sat down and skillfully, carefully painted 20 or 30 years ago would somehow find itself in a complete strangers home displayed above their mantle for all to see and be touched by? Her art will move the hearts of thousands, and throughout the years to come even long after she has gone home to her reward, the impact of her work will continue to touch others. I know that most will never fully grasp what kind of a wonderful woman is behind the pieces they select this weekend, but it just fills my heart with joy to know that a little piece of her will live on not just in my heart, but also in their home.
I have been thinking about this all week long, and as I have been doing so my mind has also been considering a very powerful lesson that this teaches us about our influence. Let us consider a few passages of Scripture together. First, let us begin with the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16) For years my grandmother got up and put everything she had into these paintings, not for them to be hidden away in storage somewhere, but to be displayed for all to see and be moved by. God put everything he had into transforming us from darkness to light through his son Jesus. Through study, prayer, discipline, and self-control we learn what it means to truly follow Jesus with the help of the Spirit. And yet, we have not dedicated ourselves to Jesus or been lavished with his grace to merely seclude ourselves from the world. No, we were meant to shine! We are his workmanship, God’s paintings, intended to be seen by the world! Through true disciples of Christ, Jesus is put on display for all the world to see when we walk as he walked. And when others see Christ in us, they are touched by his love & by his light, and give God the glory. It’s not about us, it’s all about Jesus. And yet, here is the most powerful part about it all: you might never know whose life you have touched or whom you have influenced over the years when you simply allow Christ to shine through you. Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the faith, and said, “You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:1-2) Certainly, the influence of Paul & his ministry as an apostle was far more reaching than perhaps he could ever possibly imagine. I wonder if he knew that what he was sitting down to write by inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the privacy of his own residence would one day be read just as it was by even people like you and me thousands of years later? In this instance, Paul knew that his influence and teaching for Christ would be far reaching, at least several generations – but how many lives were changed by his ministry and his work that he never even knew? My friends, in our lives God is busy painting if we so allow him, and the picture he’s painting should look the same for each of us – because it is the picture of Christ. When you allow Jesus to be seen in you, and you shine his light, you may never know how many people took that picture and brought it into their homes. How many homes that Jesus now is also displayed in through their lives because of how they first saw him in you, and it moved them to want to be like him too. Let’s conclude with the words of an old hymn that we often sing, as the chorus simply states this: “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in you.”
Thank you for tuning in to today’s episode, and I would invite you back Tuesdays-Fridays for a brand-new episode each day. If you haven’t already, be sure to find us on Facebook for occasional announcements and special video sessions. If you have benefited from this podcast, please if you’re able be sure to share it with someone else that you think could benefit from it as well. Until next time, know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each & every day set our minds above.