I am challenged at the day-to-day level of living out my faith. Daily stuff seems well within my ability to manage, so I don’t give much thought to reliance (and therefore submission) to my Master within it. But that lack shows in my relationships with my daughter, my wife, co-workers, and my community. They are part of the setting of my daily life, and, in the eyes of my Master, just as vital a part of that setting as I am.
I guess that really gets at the heart of the issue with me. When I rely on my own abilities and perspectives throughout my day, then I become master of the day-to-day. I begin to treat people from my own store of love, grace, mercy, and gentleness… Some of you already know how “deep” those stores are. What I really need is the fruit of my Master’s Spirit to live out those qualities in me throughout my daily routine, every day. Those qualities are only present in me as my Master stores them up. They aren’t my stores at all, but His; on deposit as it were.
The idea should be that I am a steward (as a knight and servant should be to his King) of the qualities my Master invests in me. I don’t rely on my stores of mercy, gentleness, goodness, peace and so on. And, perhaps more importantly, I don’t develop the expectation that I somehow grow my own reserves of such qualities. Mine just aren’t the same level quality of personal quality. I can’t live as if I practice with my Master’s stores so that I can learn to grow my own.
If I want “the good stuff” in my life, why wouldn’t I continue to rely on His qualities? Because I desire home-grown control. I want to be king. There’s no other reason I would. And such desire for power is earthly, fleshly, born of fear, and stark rebellion against my Master. It is also how I currently live out much of my daily life. So, what do I do?
To an extent, I’m doing something in writing these blog entries. But I really need more. I need to practice reaching out to my Master throughout the day. I need to practice invoking His name as I answer the phone or place a call. I need to consider my Master’s perspective as I read email and type responses.
Today, I demonstrate one product line for some of my team mates. This is an opportunity to reach out to my Master as to encourage my co-workers up against an insurmountable challenge. It is also an opportunity to show off. In considering my Master’s perspective, these people are just as important element to the setting of my life as I am. So, my focus should be on honoring His desire for them, His interest in their lives, His love and grace for them. He may not be interested in making their lives easy (this is earth not heaven), but He is interested in their lives about Him. Therein is peace, patience, gentleness, and goodness. Maybe if those qualities come out through me, they will inquire about where I got them.
My day should be about my Master’s perspective on my daily routine. There are no heroics in barracks life, but most of my time is there, not in the amazing events of life. How I live in the barracks will make life on the battlefield better. Discipline in my daily duties will carry over to discipline on the battlefield. So what I do today has importance for the rest of my life. It’s not just another day…well, actually it is, but this ordinary day is a setup for the extraordinary one around the corner.
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