Bigger and Better

Bigger and Better
Friday, September 27, 2013 by Cindy Sproles

Bigger and Better – She Said

If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward. ~ Matthew 10:42 NIV

“Be the bigger, better person.” Mom’s advice was hard but I knew she was right. Even when someone treated me badly, Mom encouraged me to rise above the junk.

I’ve said the same thing to my boys, both as children and as adults. Be bigger and better. Offer kindness, show mercy, give grace…find forgiveness. The cliché “easier said than done” is so true. But right now I struggle. I need to be the one offering a “cup of cold water” to the ones who hurt my family.

Sometimes the words stick in my throat. My humanity overrides my Christianity. Anger, frustration…unforgiveness… creep in and I see I am vulnerable to the world. Vulnerable to sin.

“I can’t believe you’re not angry. This is your son that’s getting raked over the coals.” My niece made sense. I should have been angry (wanted to be), but what would that show my adult son? Hypocrisy. After all, like my mom, I’ve been the one to say those words…be bigger, better.

Jesus set the pace for being the bigger, better person. From the simplicity of spending time with the outcasts to offering forgiveness, provision, help, Jesus preached this message over and over. He used every example He could to speak in every way possible – this message: “Be bigger and better.”

As His final act while he hung on the cross, Jesus lifted His head to heaven and said, “Father, forgive them…” He was the ultimate of bigger and better. Even when it killed Him.

The choice to live like Christ is not easy. It wasn’t for Him and it’s not for us. But we are the face of Jesus to the world. It’s our actions, our words, our attitudes the world sees. It’s us, who by our actions, can lead a soul to the feet of Christ.

Each day I rise from my sleep only to fall to my knees. “Father, I am imperfect. Forgive me.” And even in my imperfection He wets my lips with a cool drink. When I slash at His love with disobedience and selfishness, Jesus reaches past the pain to offer me a sip.

“Follow me,” He says. “Be bigger and better. Offer the cup of cool water even when your arms feel like heavy weights.”

The challenge of Jesus continues. Give the cup of cool water to those in need. To be deserving has nothing to do with it – but need has everything. Be bigger and better – let the face of Jesus reflect through you.

Read Cindy’s devotions.

Cindy is the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries. She has contributed to Novel Journey and Novel Reviews, and Christian Devotions. She has written for PML Programs and contributes to the Times-News.net and CBN.com. Her devotions and articles are published weekly in several newspapers across the country. Cindy is the Executive Editor of ChristianDevotions.us and the Devotional Acquisitions Editor for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She cowrites the He Said, She Said devotions with Eddie Jones and is the coauthor of He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion and the author of New Sheets: Thirty Days to Refine You Into the Woman You Can Be.

She is a speaker who teaches and speaks at ladies’ conferences, special events and writers conferences across the country. Cindy directs Writers ADVANCE! Boot Camp. You can visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com.

Money from New Sheets is donated to Hope House to help young, pregnant moms choose “life.”

Need to change your husband? Change your sheets. Want to change jobs? Change your sheets. Long for a new life? Just change your sheets. God uses our life experiences to shape us. When the friction of frustration chaffs the skin, God offers us respite and rest. For author Cindy Sproles, sleeping on worn-out sheets meant holding on to the past, but new sheets…new sheets marked a fresh start. The slate wiped clean. Crisp. Fresh. New. With each monumental event in her life, she tossed out the old and ushered in the new with a set of fresh new sheets. From the cheapest muslin to the most expensive Egyptian cotton, she saw how God was shaping her into the woman she needed to be. When the road is tough, veer off and step onto a path that is tried and true. One already walked, already blazed, and already prepared just for you. New Sheets – Thirty Days to Refine You into the Woman You Can Be, is a series of thirty transparent devotions and inspirational thoughts that welcome you, wrap you tight, and snuggle you in encouragement. The next time you long for a change…go for new sheets.

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