Hi Friends, Okay, pop-quiz time! (Don’t worry, you get to answer in your head. Or not at all. No rules here.) Which of these activities that Jesus did was holy? 1) Healing the sick I think you know what I’m getting at. But first, what about a few more: 8) Re-measuring wood, muttering the number under His breath so as not to forget while He adjusted His carpentry tool Wait. Where is that in the Bible? There aren’t explicit verses detailing most of the mundane moments of Jesus’ life, and none at all about His first 30 years of obscurity, but we know that He took on flesh and bone as much as we (Hebrews 2:14). There is no human experience He opted out of, including the ones we see as ordinary. And if He — the Holy One, the Ancient of Days from everlasting — took on flesh and experienced the ordinary, then surely every single last experience of normalcy has been made sacred. Even the moments when He’s not praying. Even the moments when His mind is absorbed in His work. Even the moments… yes. All of the moments. What does this mean for us? Well, it means all of our ordinary moments are made holy when we are His. Read that again. I didn’t say they’re holy when we’re praying while doing ordinary things (like washing dishes). I didn’t say they’re holy in the moments when we’re stepping away from the patterns of life to fast or pray. We tend to think: But the truth is, all our moments are holy when we are His. Just like the security and faithfulness of my marriage is not more true when I am outwardly expressing my love for my husband than when I am comparing the cost of asparagus vs broccoli on a grocery trip, in the same way, the worth, beauty and holiness of our lives are not more true when we are fasting and praying. The distinction comes not from us, but from Him. So: Picnic. Train for that marathon. Run the dish towels through the wash while you write up a client contract. Eat pizza with your kids for dinner. Laugh at their jokes. Your ordinary is not to be escaped in order to be more holy. Every ordinary moment of our lives is made holy when we are His. –Anna P.S. Did this spark some thoughts for you? Hit reply — I’d love to hear them! |
I am a singer, songwriter, wife, mother, Jesus follower. I send out a 2-minute read every Tuesday about Jesus and life in God.
Hi Friends, Christmas week… it’s here! Amidst the cookies and carols and last minute gift wrapping, pause with me as we look into a beautiful part of the Advent story… Last week, we left off at the angels appearing to the shepherds. They are given a message: “‘And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’” A sign. What is the sign in the swaddling cloths? There are several answers to this that theologians have long pointed to. One...
Hi Friends, At this point in our unusual Advent series, it’s clear that God has chosen to do things much differently than we would have. And the announcement of Jesus’ birth is no different. You and I, we probably would have shouted the announcement of His arrival in the palace of the king. All eyes and ears, give attention! Or maybe we would have sent the message to the halls of the temple. Yes, it would be fitting to send word to the priests who spend their days in spiritual service to God....
Hi Friends, Welcome to week one of the Advent Series! This year I am writing these Advent devotionals for those overcoming spiritual anxiety. (You can read more on that here if you missed it.) There is healing for us in this Advent story, and it starts at the very beginning. In Luke 1:26-38, we see Mary visited by the Angel Gabriel and given a most shocking message. That she, a virgin, would bear the Son of God. She is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, and it begins: Jesus spends His first 9...