A Life that Stands Out

 

In the course of my walk, sometimes things just seem to leap out and capture my attention. I would not be able to find the object if I was searching for it. But in an instant, out of a busy background, something comes into focus as I pass. It is always fun when it happens.

Do you see it? In the backdrop of twisting limbs and curving vines, there grows a single plant, straight and tall. It appears as if it could have been added by an artist using a straightedge. In one way it seems to not belong. In another way, all the rest of the plants are merely backup singers.

I have known some people whose lives are very much like this plant. I’m certain you have as well. Whether family, friend or coworker, there is something about who they are that makes them different in the best of ways. It is not because they draw attention to themselves or because they are overbearing in personality. No, it is because their is a quality to the way they look at others, a sound in their voice that offers what another needs in that moment, be it respect, compassion or just a listening ear. They stand out by virtue of the quality of their hearts.

The letter to the Christians at Ephesus teaches that we should, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

This is a life that will stand out from the world. These are the qualities that will cause people to find what they need, even when they do not know exactly for what they are searching. This is the description of a life that will stand straight and tall no matter what is spinning around us in the world. This would be a life worth living.

Peace.