A Newton divided by a Square Meter Paper

21 People often incorrectly use the phrase "finding contentment." It's not an object to obtain, it's a state to abide in. Being content in worldly matters is crucial as a Christian. Yes, we should continue to strive towards higher goals and push ourselves to be the best we can be, but when it comes to material goods, we have to realize that what we have is enough. It's so easy to look at others and think, "Oh, I don't have what they have," but if we're abiding in God, we are content because he provides for all of our needs. And if we don't have it, we don't need it.

22 You are made perfectly by the Creator of the heavens and earth, who has never made a single mistake, and that includes you. All of the things you hate about yourself are things that God intentionally put in your path. You were created with a purpose that only you can fulfill, and you can't do that by trying to be like someone else. You are important, even when you don't feel like it. You are enough.

23 Through all of the disappointments we face and the heartbreak we go through, God gives our lives value. Without Him, there is nothing. He redeems us constantly. Every hour, every minute, and every second, His grace is washing away all of our sin. Every negative thought you have had about others or yourself, every time you have spoken without thinking, every time you have given into temptation, every fleck of sin that has covered your soul, God has lovingly and permanently removed. You are never too tired, too broken, or too far from Him that He will not hear your prayers and answer them.

24 That person who was unkind to me is precious in God's eyes, and if I want to live for Christ, they have to be precious to me too. If they were so loved by God that He died for them, it is impossible for me to not only forgive their sin but to also forget it the same way He has forgotten all of my many sins. It means I should have the same sacrificial love for them that Christ has for me.

To hold onto your hurt feelings would be selfish, and selfishness is not an attribute of Jesus. You have to forgive them, and not just so you can say you took the high road, but because Christ has already forgiven them and you should strive to be like Him.

If you want to be the light of the world, you have to be willing to forgive people who never apologize. When we were called to be a light, we weren't called to be a blinding light that cause people to close their eyes and look away. We weren't called to be a light so dim that people have to squint and stumble to see it. We were called to be a beacon of hope, providing warmth and direction to all who see us, and we cannot lead others to Christ by holding onto grudges.

25 Sometimes a crying baby mask is really just a crying baby mask.

26 True love is God putting the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden with mankind, knowing that Satan would deceive Adam and Eve, God’s most precious creations, and that they would eat of the fruit that would lead to the fall of man and, ultimately, His Son’s death on the cross. True love is God knowing all of this and giving us the option of betraying him, because to take away our free will would go against His very character. True love is creating a paradise here on earth and giving us the option of leaving it. True love is God continually loving us even when we continue to eat the fruit.

27 What’s the point in being blown away by a sunset or the view from a mountaintop if you’re not blown away when you look in the mirror? Aren’t all of these things a part of God’s masterpiece?

28 There has never been a person that you hated that God didn’t love.

29 True happiness is a life lived within your consciousness. A life lived ignoring morals is a life lived in guilt.

30 The purpose of your life is to live outside yourself. You were created to live your life as a replication of Christ. This means sitting with the people no one wants to sit with. This means having lunch with people outside of your group. This means doing things outside of your comfort zone, no matter how scared or unsure you may be. We tend to not think of Christ as ever being scared, but He was human too. He had his doubts and insecurities, but He know His greater purpose, which He shares with us.  

31 Consider an acorn. Inside is contained a single seed which has the potential of growing into a massive oak tree. Is this seed aware of its greater purpose? Does it know that it will one day tower over the world? It is unaware that its current state doesn’t deter from its ultimate potential. Consider then the oak tree. Does this tree know that it holds the possibility of providing sanctuary to a family or of housing the greatest treasures in the world? Does it see its deep roots and long limbs and believe that it has reached its maximum success? These are transitional forms, created to adapt and improve and fulfill whatever needs may arise.

Now consider yourself. Look at your legs, how they stand firm and keep you upright. Look at your arms, how they reach out and grab hold of the world around you. Look at the works produced by your hands and the impact of the words that proceed from your mouth. Do you believe to be less than an acorn? Or as equal as the oak tree? Do you not see the potential that is stored in your bones and seeps through your skin? Who you are today is different than who you were yesterday and who you will be tomorrow.