Jesus used
illustrations from the mundane to explain the profound. So truth about very important aspects of my
life with my Master can be found in the mundane areas of life. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 when Paul is wrapping
up his argument about food sacrificed to idols, he uses this statement as a
general admonition to bring the focus of the glory of God into common aspects
of my life. Since Jesus used common
aspects as illustrations, it seems He finds wisdom in these elements of life.
So, I have
very common things I do each day where I can focus on the glory of my
Master. In these I can find wisdom when
I look; lessons about the deeper things of my relationship with my Master. For instance, washing dishes brings to mind
Jesus’ statement about washing the inside being more important than the
outside. Even building something is used
by Jesus to illustrate how it is necessary to plan for the end before I even
begin my relationship with my Master; I am to finish well. There are dozens more, and probably more that
didn’t even make it into the gospels.
If those
places of my daily life are made holy, not just the “holy” ones, I become more
holy. I don’t become holy in the sense
that God is holy, but I become holy in the same way I consider Him holy. I see my Master as completely “other”;
distinct from any other person. He is
capable of creation at vast levels of complexity and in miniscule levels of
intricacy. I am not, nor will I ever
be. I’m not holy in that way; rather I’m
holy in the sort of way I set Him aside as distinct from this common
world. I need to be distinct as
well. I need to be obviously different
from others in my character and my behavior.
I am to be holy
as implements are holy, not in the way that standing in His presence as a
profane man would destroy me. Although, I
do need to abstain from unholy things as He does. Jesus has the ability to transform common
things to holy things. Some things defy this
transformation. I want to follow this
pattern of transforming common things I do into holy activities, and stay far
away from behaviors and thoughts which defy such transformation. Washing dishes, answering the phone (i.e. my
job), and listening to my daughter talk and talk and talk and talk (oh my
gracious…) are all things that can be and should be transformed into holy
activities.
My interior
thought life often runs headlong into the profane patterns that cannot be
transformed into holy things. Those I
need to put under the ban. These are the
thoughts I bring captive to my Master.
The thoughts of sinful pleasures of my selfish nature are those things
that will pass away in the process of my Master transforming this common man
into a holy man. I wish they were gone
already, but they aren’t. I still
wrestle with them, and they still have a power over me; power I gave them long
ago and still leave with them. These
things refuse transformation, so they must be destroyed. I’m not there yet.
I am a man
in transition. I am a person in between
the common profane life of this world and the holy glorious life of my
Master. My standard needs to be
higher. On that scale of holiness, I want
to be further along. I can be. It’s not like I’m just getting by with my
sinful thoughts until my Master comes for me.
I don’t want Him coming to find me consumed by sinful thought
patterns! How embarrassing, for us
both! I believe that when my Master
calls me to be holy as my Father in Heaven is holy, this is a call that can be
answered in this life. Leviticus is full
of explanations that the people were to be holy as God is holy. It’s not a new idea.
So, today I dedicate
my work, my family, and my mind to my Master.
I do so now, and I will need to do so again in about an hour. And then I will need to do so around lunch,
and then again as I get off work. I will
probably need to do so again at various times through my work day as well. And there will be family time after work when
I will need to rededicate my mind, words, and attitudes back to my Master. I will have a lot of this going on I suspect. But if I don’t I will miss the Person more
amazing than anything I’ve seen through either my telescope or microscope; the
One making all of it and holding it all together. I can’t have that.
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