Discerning God at work through you, amid the faces, places, and spaces of ordinary life, means nothing further needs to be accomplished but humble faithfulness with the small stuff.”- Rev. Jeffrey Leininger
“God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.”- 1 Corinthians 1:28-29
Rev. Jeffrey Leininger concludes Chapter 3 of Callings for Life as he presents The Four Rs of an Ordinary Life. Those four important applications: rejoicing, relief, repentance, and readiness.
1. Rejoice. All activity the Christian engages in on earth in Christ’s name possesses significance and sacred worth. Because God’s active in, through, and behind such activity. Knowing this, Christians not only rejoice, but find peace and contentment in their daily God-breathed activities.
2. Relief. As Christians discover their callings in the ordinary rather than the dramatic, they experience a sense of relief. For when you strive for great personal achievement, tremendous personal pressure presses down on you. Instead, know that God sees, recognizes, and blesses you as you serve as His instrument in our fallen world.
3. Repentance. God calls us to repentance for (a) seeking first the praise of people and (b) looking solely to the dramatic. And all the while neglecting the countless ways God works in day-to-day life. Rev. Leininger adds: “The Word rightly convicts us when we join the world’s celebration of the scintillating rather than rest in the knowledge that God labors through the lowly.”
4. Readiness. Finally, the author notes, baptized believers in Jesus stand ready for whatever might unfold for them. First and foremost, Rev. Leininger stresses, this includes a life of sanctification. Using the smallest and most commonplace ways, the Holy Spirit accomplishes new things in new creatures. New creatures remade through the Gospel.
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you in discerning God at work through you? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “God loves dirt – God made dirt”
