“You’re so positive,” some folks say. Or “You always smile.” Others put a finer point on it, “With a great attitude like that, cancer is no match for you.”
Cancer sucks. I hate my circumstances, but love my life.
Lasting PMA - positive mental attitude - never comes from self-help. It’s straight from the Living God.
Make no mistake, my attitude isn’t me. It’s God at work in me.
And God’s work goes way beyond attitude. God is my protector, my healer, my wisdom, my joy. He gives abundant life. He leads me down the right paths (not necessarily the ones I want) for my own good and for his glory.
And he’ll do that for any human being on the face of the planet. He gives us a new life.
Our sin, to a perfectly holy God, put us on death row. But God willingly sent his own son, Jesus Christ, to live in our flesh, to experience all the hurts and all the temptations we do, to live a perfect life without sin, and to be brutally (and guiltlessly) executed on the cross for our sins. But then, he rose from the dead - conquering sin and the grave forever.
We can join Christ in his victory! We stop struggling to be a “good person,” and we trust Christ’s blood alone to make us right with God and commit to make Christ the boss of our lives. Sin and the grave have no more power over us. God’s Spirit hones us over time, devotion, prayer and obedience to live as God’s children and as heaven’s colony here on Earth.
Christ gives us joyful life. He gives us lasting PMA. And then, we have eternity worshipping our Maker in heaven.
Everything else is garbage.
Next time you see me smile, remember why.
- Alan
