I often catch myself thinking that gospel-living requires something of me that is altogether different from my everyday life. Sometimes I feel like I am required to be another person altogether. Perhaps I ought to be more like Hudson Taylor or St. Francis of Assissi. But if I were to remake myself in their image, would I be accurately reflecting the image of God?
I recently started a new job. I was hired to help our team transition the clients we serve from one service model to a new one. On the surface, sitting at a computer creating workflows doesn’t feel very gospel-ly. But as I thought about my work, I began to realize how much the gospel saturates the things I do, sometimes without even thinking about it.
This service requires a herald to proclaim that a new model has arrived and that requires a new way of relating. Some can’t sign up fast enough and others can’t understand why it matters. For our team, this model is a reality we now live in. But the fact is this. To most, it is entirely unrealized. The future is both crystal clear and dimly lit. Some days it feels close enough to touch and still other days we feel further away than when we started.
Isn’t this the tension we experience as followers of Jesus today? Without even realizing it, our lives can reflect the reality of the Kingdom of God in which we now reside. Amen.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gifts you have entrusted to me. I ask for the humility to offer them back to you to the end that the magnificence of Jesus would shine more brightly in the places of our world that are still dimly lit. Amen.
Go Deeper — There is an old saying that states we should bloom where we are planted. In what ways are you doing that now? Ask the Lord to show you ways you are right where he needs you to be.
Photo Credit: Timothy Eberly