When I do weddings, the vows I typically use include the promise to commit to the others "self-fulfillment as a person". I have to admit I don't know what that means exactly. Chambers today admonishes me for seeking self-realization. This flies in the face of the challenge to "know thy self". I like that challenge, and have been on a journey something like that for most of my life. The result of this search has been that I am fairly aware of my own problems; oh yeah, and I have been stuck in an addiction for over 20 years.
If I want to know my Master (Philippians 3:10) more than I want to know myself, then I am really on the right track. Paul, my ministry buddy I cannot compete with, says he doesn't examine himself (1 Corinthians 4:3), he only wants to know Jesus. That's pretty amazing to me. I want to know all sorts of stuff; or at least it seems that way. Actually I don't want to not know something when asked or challenged. That is a very different thing. It is clear from Philippians, and the example of Paul, that I should be in pursuit of knowing my Master.
Chambers puts this pursuit of knowledge of my Master in the context of everyday life. That makes sense when I consider that Jesus used examples from daily life to make his points in parables. What made them work and understandable was that He used everyday life. So finding more about my Master in everyday life is not only possible, but follows His lead. My daily life is significantly different from the daily lives of those to whom He told parables. So where in my daily life do I find more knowledge of my Master?
This is dangerous ground. Finding out more information or knowledge is not the same as knowing Him. The knowledge and information is self-focused; where knowing Him is focused on Him and relating with Him. So where and how do I know my Master more in my daily life? That is a better question. And I believe the answer is found in the calls I receive and make during my job, the chats I have with my team, the administrative tasks I decide which to do and which to refer to other departments (giving up control and power to a group I don't trust to do a good job). All these, if I do them with the awareness of the Spirit of my Master's presence and leading, will lead me to know my Master better.
The transformation of my daily work into service to my Master is so slight that observers would not easily pick up on any difference. The difference would be internal and show itself externally as a pervasive overall attitude and personal quality. This has already happened to an extent. In the midst of this huge transition I have experienced a tremendous difference in my response to change. I have not become overwhelmed by fear. I have not resorted to my addictive patterns. I have been able to focus on my Master. I have been thankful and marveled at His provision for my family. I have enjoyed the opportunities for service to customers and my team. I have been able to calmly wait for His timing.
Now I know that I can trust my Master in any circumstance. I know that now experientially, but it will have to be tested again and again since I am prone to weakness and my faith wavers. I am too much like the Israelites wandering in the desert to not need consistent proving and testing to strengthen and deepen the quality of my faith in my Master. And I know He sits over me as a smelter and refiner of gold (Malachi 3:1-3), and uses fire to improve my purity.
So today I will seek to know my Master better in all the aspects of my day. In all I do with my work and family, I will seek to know more deeply the Person I serve, to submit more completely to Him, and worship Him more truly. I will seek to do this in the midst of work and relating to my family. Here I go.
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