Good morning,
How
can we know as we go through life here on earth that we are leaving
behind us a job well done? When Paul wrote God’s kids at Galatia, he
reminded them that because of God’s grace, they were chosen by God to be
an important part of his eternal plan. We are not accidents in time,
we are children of God who have been personally chosen by him to show
the world around us what the unseen God is really like. We have been
called to look and act like Jesus. This is no easy calling. Jesus
lived here on earth over 2000 years ago in a cultural setting completely
different than what we are facing today. The vast majority of the
billions of people now living on the earth live in urban settings
defined by technology and information that has never been available to
anyone before. The pressures and pleasures of life now come flying into
our lives from even the remotest places on earth, and our cultures and
customs are changing so quickly that there is no way to keep up with
what is supposed to work today.
The wonderful thing about God’s
grace is that he chose us in eternity past to be a part of the time we
live in now and he knew what needed to be done to accomplish his calling
for us today. Our Heavenly Father has indeed planned every day of our
lives, and he has designed us to carry out his plans effectively when we
rely on the same Holy Spirit he gave to his son, Jesus. He has been
very clear that we are to trust him with all our hearts, and not trust
our own understanding. He knows the complexity of our lives, and when
we live our lives focused on doing what he tells us to do, in the way he
tells us to carry out his commands, we will leave behind us a job well
done. However, this can’t happen if we keep comparing ourselves with
the people around us. Just because folks around us call themselves
children of God, and they seem successful, doesn’t mean they are right
or doing it right. We are not responsible to them, we are responsible
to our Heavenly Father. Religious living is the standard that made it
right to kill Jesus. We alone will stand before God to give an account
of ourselves based on what we have done and why we did it that way. Oh
Lord, please help us to arrive home, leaving behind us a job well done.
Galatians 6:4
Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the
satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself
to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
Roy Wisner
