May 2 ~ John 8:23-24
Jesus said, “You’re tied down to the
mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in
terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms. I told you
that you were missing God in all this. You’re at a dead end. If you
won’t believe I am who I say I am, you’re at the dead end of sins.
You’re missing God in your lives.”
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
A picture recently appeared
on Facebook of my friends posing with country music singer Carrie
Underwood at a concert she performed in a nearby city. As a birthday
gift for his wife, this friend apparently arranged for them to meet the
singer and take a picture with her. I’ve said before that I am not
“starstruck” (although I probably would not pass up an opportunity to
make a photo with a celebrity!)…but as I looked at these two people
standing with Carrie Underwood, it occurred to me that SHE got the
bigger treat!
This man is a wonderful family physician, a Godly
father, and just an all-around “good egg.” His wife is the mother to
four amazing children. As if that weren’t enough, she is trained as a
neonatal nurse, and she serves in her church and community. She is kind
and caring…and I am blessed to have known her since she was a little
girl.
Here’s the thing...a lot of us are looking for the
extraordinary. We operate in what we can see and touch…the “photo with a
celebrity” we see on television and hear on the radio. Everywhere we
look, he/she is doing what appear to be incredible things…and we get
“starstruck.” We don’t see how God is using US to do things that are
equally spectacular – if not more so.
We downplay the
importance of nurturing our children so that they become polite,
well-rounded and Godly individuals. We underestimate how God has worked
in our marriages, friendships, and work relationships to create harmony
and productivity. We fail to see the critical role we play in
furthering God’s kingdom through our Christian witness - and our words
and actions. We do not recognize God’s power to create “superstars for
Jesus” in each and every one of us. And we miss out on God in our
lives.
The lesson for us today is to stop and take a breath…to
recognize that God is using us even in the ordinary and “mundane”
activities of life to make a difference for His kingdom. Everything we
do can be done to the glory of God. I don’t mean to take anything away
from Carrie Underwood – or my friends’ exciting birthday celebration.
But for my money, any person who recognizes God’s presence and influence
in the simplest of everyday life events deserves “celebrity status.” I
have to think that THESE are the people with whom God would choose to
have a photo made…and I want to be among them! What about you?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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