“To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” Titus 1:15

Different people have different slants on life. One person will always see the positive side of life. They enjoy the beauty of life. They see the sunsets. They smell the roses. They expect blessings. They hug the babies. They cherish conversations. They celebrate life’s special blessings.

Others will always see the negative side of life. They suspect the dark side. They prepare for the worst. They see life as a struggle. They sigh when they have survived another day. They watch for the thorns in the roses. They expect trouble. They avoid conversations. They thrive on discovering the latest subversive force that is lurking.

Different people have different slants on religion. One person will always see the positive side of faith. They enjoy fellowship with God. They expect His blessing and guidance. They are confident in His faithfulness. They feel free from hindrances to their focus on the Lord and His partnership with them.

Others will always see the negative side of religion. They see rules and regulations that restrict enjoyment of life. They critically see failures instead of successes in living a life of faith. They expect conflict and compromise from others. They rarely see God as the solution. Their focus is on people, not God. They seem captured by the latest controversy or comparison of spirituality with others.

The difference in life and faith is what lies on the inside of the person. “To the pure, all things are pure.” To the person who has a pure heart seeking God’s grace, they see God’s loving touch in every aspect of life. Their focus in not on a fallen world, but an eternal kingdom. They hear only one voice, God’s. They feel only one influence, the Holy Spirit. They celebrate only one priority, trusting Jesus as their answer. Their life is simple. They live each day by faith, with the goal to please the Lord.

The opposite is also true for others. “To the defiled, nothing is pure.” The life with multiple influences has conflicts of thought. A person who lives to please both God and the world will feel frustrated because they will not fit either realm. They world will ostracize them for their compromised commitment to God and God will convict them of their unfaithfulness to the Kingdom. Because they don’t like what they see inside themselves, they look at their world with a jaundiced eye, expecting more evil to come.

The key to the victorious life is to trust in God’s grace and to practice sharing His love every day. With this simple but significant focus in life, each day will create beautiful memories and positive expectations about who holds our future and what we can expect. When Christ is all we seek, all we see will be worth celebrating.

Bro. John A. Temple is pastor of Poplar Springs Drive Baptist Church, 4032 Poplar Springs Drive, Meridian. Visit the church website at www.psdbc.org.