Day Ten

Day Ten // February 27 // Whatever is Excellent

“My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; that in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest.” – Charles Dickens –

The Apostle Paul ends this injunction to let Christ’s mind live in us by urging, “If anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” What Paul is urging us to do is to not get mired in the ruts and struggles of life. To focus on those things that surpass and are superior to the ordinary. We must go beyond the limitations the culture wants to place on us. But notice where excellence begins: in our minds. Charles Swindoll wrote, “The secret of living a life of excellence is merely a matter of thinking thoughts of excellence. Really, it’s a matter of programming our minds with the kind of information that will set us free.” When we start thinking about excellent things, we will start to cultivate optimism. We will learn to not let

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our negative tendencies overwhelm us. We recognize that life is filled with challenges. But if we go looking for disaster around every corner, there’s a good chance we’re going to bump into it. We need to redirect the energy we use for spotting what’s wrong with our lives into noticing what’s right.

When we think about excellence, we will start to notice the little things. We will focus on the beauty of life. We can be grateful for small mercies. Gratitude always opens the door to happiness and, even better, to joy! Be grateful for the appliances that keep our households running, for the bed to rest our weary heads, for running water and the ever-present electricity to light our nights. And more than these, we need to focus on the amazing people God has placed in our lives. When the Apostle Paul was talking about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians, he ended by saying, “Let me show you a more excellent way.” It was a more excellent way that he expressed by penning the famous “Love Hymn” of the Bible (1 Corinthians 13). We need to fill our minds with thoughts about how to love God and the people in our lives in a more excellent way. Nothing matters as much. Nothing can let the mind of Christ be in us more.

Remember how Paul put it: “Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our

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incompletes will be canceled. We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears, and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love” (1 Corinthians 13:813).

WEEK THREE:

The Hands of Christ

“When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.’ He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”

– Matthew 8:1-3 –