1/16/10

Pictures, hands and a rainbow heart

Very nice photo! Not the photo in the picture, but rather the hands that are holding the picture. The picture is nice too, but the hands caught my attention. My guess is that the hands belong to the man in the smaller picture. He is probably remembering what it was like to be there; to be alive in that picture. Perhaps he has memories of the lady with him and I hope they are good ones. How we remember people is important; it says a lot about both them and ourselves. Consider the Christians at Thessalonica; Paul, writes:


1 Thessalonians 1:1-7 WEB (R)
(1) Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
(2) We always give thanks to God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers,
(3) remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.
(4) We know, brothers loved by God, that you are chosen,
(5) and that our Good News came to you not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and with much assurance. You know what kind of men we showed ourselves to be among you for your sake.
(6) You became imitators of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
(7) so that you became an example to all who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia.


To me, verse number three says it all; the rest provides color. Many people talk a good game, but not everyone acts; the old saying is true: Talk is cheap; actions speak louder than words. The Thessalonians did something about their faith and did it in such a way as to be a praiseworthy (verse 7) example. As for the Apostle Paul, well, he worked and worked and worked and through it all prayed and kept on praying. Both his success and that of the Thessalonians was not only in their many deeds, but in the heart dedicated to God that was willing to work in the first place. This sort of love will always be remembered because it is engraven not on perishable paper but rather on the heart which is given to God. If I could see within a being so dedicated, I have no doubt that what is written there would be in a living rainbow of colors, more beautiful than any mere words could tell.