Living simply, or minimalism as it's often called these days, has always intrigued me. I was drawn to the lifestyle but I liked my stuff and I never really took it seriously enough to create any lasting change in my life. Then the resurgence of some long-quiet health issues led to burnout and forced me to take an honest look at my life. I could finally see without the blinders of consumerism.
I quit my job, cut back on a few commitments that did not intersect with my calling, and began to clear the excess from my home. I realize that being in the position to quit one's job is a luxury that not everyone has, but I am realizing that in most cases our ministry is right where God has planted us. That may be in the workplace for many of you, or like me, sometimes pursuing work in a traditional job setting takes us away from where God is leading us to serve. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace. (1 Peter 4:10) A little side note...I never noticed before now how this verse uses the word "varied" to describe God's grace. God has gifted us and equipped us in myriad ways and we are evidence of the endless creativity of an artist God!
Some people may feel I'm wasting my life by not making the most of the gifts God has given me, but what does it mean exactly to make the most of my gifts? Could it be that when we strive to do big things for God we are getting things backward? We are bombarded with the idea that bigger is better, from our callings to our closets. It's not an uncommon message within Christian media that God wants to do huge, mind-blowing things through us, if we would only reach for it. But what if our idea of big is not the same as God's idea of big? What if the end result of the big, huge things God wants to do in our lives won't be seen until eternity? Are we satisfied with that? Do we trust that God can take a life that looks small by earthly standards and build an eternal wealth beyond our wildest imagination? How would it look to be content doing the small things, to see the lesser tasks as offerings to a big God who can turn our meager gifts into miracles, our empty hands into eternal treasure? Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. (Ephesians 3:20)
I'm not clearing the excess from my life so I can sit and read books all day (although that is a tempting thought). No, I'm clearing the excess from my life to make room for God to fill the empty spaces. I want time to notice the small opportunities God places in my path to love others and to love him. Sometimes that will look like actual time spent quietly with my Savior that I would have missed in the hurry and the hustle, and sometimes it will be noticing and responding to the people he places in my path. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40)
I am slowly learning to separate the striving from the serving and to hold my days with a looser grip. It's not something that we arrive at but that we get better at with practice, and Christ is a patient and gentle teacher. It is human nature to want to figure out the big picture but much of life is learning to trust God with what is right in front of us. We learn to take the next step, the only step we can see, with confidence in a God who knows and who promises to lead us and to never leave us. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23)
"I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." We tend to live out our lives as though the here and now IS our life, but the here and now is really just preparation for the only life that really matters...eternal life in the presence of Christ, the one who gives life.
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