Wednesday, June 01, 2011

The Little Tasks - June 1, 2011

Um, Good Wednesday morning? Wednesday always seems to get here so quickly on a holiday week. Where did Monday and Tuesday go? Of course, Monday was the holiday and Tuesday was the recovery day, so, boom, Wednesday is already here. Half the week is gone and it always seems that something isn't done yet. The good part of that is Friday is just that much closer. Meaning that all of the work you have scheduled for this week must be done at the double time of course. Some folks get a paid day off work on a Monday holiday, but at the same time nothing comes for free: the rest of the week is crammed together and you end up doing all the work you 'missed' on Monday anyway. Sometimes you might wonder what good a holiday is and if it wouldn't be better to just skip the whole thing. A closeup photo of a cicada is staring at me from my computer screen all bug-eyed. I think it may be a comment on my goofy holiday analysis today.

The summer heat comes today for a brief visit, so I set and accomplished three missions yesterday afternoon. While it feels good to have made a list and checked off the jobs, I realize this morning how easy it is to busy myself away from God's mission for the life I have given him. In our Christian walk we have things we want to do and things that God commands us to do. Is there room for both? Often there is, but if there is a conflict, God's way must come first. Other times we like to take our Day-timer, or other planner and fill up the day with tasks. We forget to ask God what He would have us to do, but we do ask for God's blessing on what we want to do. At the end of the day it feels good to go down the list checking off the tasks, but did we accomplish those things that are best for us? Did we accomplish what God would have used to grow us spiritually in this life?

So far in my life, I have noticed that God's tasks don't go away. If I busy the spiritual task out of my life one day, it sits there staring at me the next morning as if to say: "Yes, you did good yesterday except for ignoring me." I then realize that God should not be put off to later or tomorrow. We need His fellowship now. We need to study His Word today. There is a certain guilt feeling associated with ignoring God's mission too. And we probably don't like that feeling much, at least I know that I don't like it much. Then there are those other days.

Yes, those days when the seemingly little, but sacrificial, tasks that we accomplish are a part of God's plan and we grow to a better knowledge of Him through the mundane tasks that need doing. Maintaining a home might be one of these, cleaning the church another, or even spending time with the grand kids; little tasks that may not seem so important or even in the way of your great works that you want to accomplish in this lifetime. Some of these little tasks may be more sacrificial than others. The great works that God performs to His glory are made up of many little tasks that He allows us to do for him. Some may seem to go completely unnoticed, but God knows. One great day you and I might just see a pile of treasure in Heaven waiting for us. A pile larger than we ever thought possible. Get on those small works for God and build up some heavenly treasure!

Bucky

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