What We Miss Out On!

"They just could not see the beauty of that broken iron stump, the colors, the crystaline shapes; they could not see the possibilities there. Anna wanted them to join her in this exciting new world, but they could not imagine themselves to be so small that this jagged fracture could become a world of iron mountains, or iron plains with crystal trees. It was a new world to explore... a world where few people would or could follow her. In this broken-off stump was a whole new realm of possibilites to be explored and to be enjoyed." Mr. God, This is Anna

The above quote gives us a glimpse at a child's understanding of how God works in the ordinary; how God takes the everyday things of life and makes them extraordinary. The divine has made the ordinary sacred by investing Himself in the ordinary. Isaiah 66:1, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool." This teaching of Isaiah indicates that all creationi sthe temple of God. Establishing that none of creation is outside the Lord's concern; everthing is sacred because it belongs to Him.

As we look at the life of Christ, the Divine, we see Him investing Himself in the ordinary and making it sacred. By the Divine making the ordinary sacred, believers must treat the ordinary as a sacrament, a pledge or our commitment to Christ. Our act of treating the ordinary sacred is our responsibility of service to our Savior.

John 1:14a says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." This literally means that God "tabernacled" among us. In the Old Testament the tabernacle was God's dwelling place among the Israelites during the wilderness wanderings. This tabernacle coincides with Solomon's Temple that would be built during Solomon's reign as king over the Israelite people. Like the tabernacle during the wilderness wandering, Solomon's Temple was the place God dwelled among the people. The New Testament teaches that our bodies are God's temple: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you have been bough with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). God went from dwelling in a building, to human form in Christ, to living in us. There are over 6 billion people in the word. Our bodies are ordinary! But, this act of God dwelling among us, taking on a body, shows us that these ordinary dwelling are not so ordiary. They are sacred vessels of God.

Salvationists (members of The Salvation Army church) joke about and even complain that the only thing the Home League ladies do is eat. This may be true, but guess what? So, did Jesus! Thoughout the gospels we read about Jesus sitting having a meal with sinners, Pharisees, would-be disciples, and even a meal at a Leper's house. In fact, all of the gospels speak of Jesus eating a meal at some point or another. These meals are significant because Jesus was about Kingdom business while he dined. I believe that those meals mentioned above are a mere glimpse of the impact Jesus had on people while He ate. We often refer to the Last Supper as the signifiant meal that Jesus ate. At an ordinary meal, Jesus did the extraordinary. Likewise, each meal we partake in shoud be about Kingdom business. "It has been said that we are not fully Christian until Christ has become Lord not only of the communion table but also the dinner table."

The Widow's offering found in Luke 21 is a great illustration of the ordinary becoming sacred. Scripture tells us that Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts in the temple treasury, but the poor widow's offering was the one that impressed Him. The welathy gave out of their abundance and still had plenty leftover. The widow woman, however, gave sacrificially. The widow being the poorest of the poor because she had no one to provide and protect her was giving from all she had. This act may seem small, but it has great spiritual implications. It is the ordinary becoming sacred. Many see this woman's offering as an ordinary act because it was small in comparison to what others gave. However, this simple act was sacred because of the woman's circumstances.

The Lord must be in every aspect of our lives. If a sacrament is pledging our lives to Christ then that is all inclusive. Every part of us should be a sacrament to the Lord. "I have been crucified iwht Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives within me," Galatians 2:20. If we take these words of Paul and claim them as our own, then we are a living sacrament. Therefore, we must live as Christ lived. Living a life where the ordinary is no long ordinary, it is sacred. When we deal with people, circumstances, responsibilities, and even our own lifestyles, we must treat them as a sacrament. If all of creation belongs to the Lord, and we are made alive in Christ, then His love and His actions should be reflected in every aspect of our beings.

The illustration of Anna and the iron stump is a mere glimpse of what we miss out on because we do not seek to find God in the ordinary. "People thought that Mister God was very big, and that's where they made a big mistake" (Mr. God This is Anna).