Parker Inspirations

Relationships are built according to what we see. I read a devotion about the marriage relationship. The main verse was Solomon 2:2 “As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.” In this devotion it was pointed out that there was one lily and many thorns, seen in the eyes of the spouse. The spouse chose to see the beauty in the lily and not dwell on the thorns. When we are dating, we fall in love with the lily. We do not see the thorns until after the marriage begins.

There are many thorns is all of our lives. We can dwell on all the negatives and missed out on all the good things a person has to offer. I believe this can also be used in any relationship. I am reminded that we are sinners, so to focus on the thorns, we miss the real purpose of why God put that person in our path. If we focus on the positive our lives will be much richer. Focusing on positives brings about edifying and praise. The more we lift someone up the more they strive to do their best.

Our goal in life should be like Barnabus, he was an encourager. He looked for the positives. When Paul saw the negative in John Mark, Barnabus saw the positive. Later on in the scripture Paul saw John Mark as profitable. If we look in the beginning for the positives, we will not have to wait for time to pass before we see what God already sees. In Jeremiah 29:11 we can see how God sees us. It says, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God does not think evil thoughts of us, so why do we focus on the negative toward others.

Another scripture is Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” The Lord has forgiven us and given us a home in heaven, yet we are not always forgiving toward others. I need to focus more on this and look for the good and be willing to not dwell on the thorns. I do not need others to tell me what thorns are in my life; I see them through the Word of God and the Preaching. I want to love others the way I want to be loved, forgive the way I want others to forgive me, and encourage the way I want to be encouraged.