The Blessing of Ordinaryናሙና

The Pure in Heart

I grew up in an era of Christian obsession with the End Times. Preachers painstakingly predicted the imminent return of the Savior and born-again believers debated the details of things called the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the Millennium.

Against such a backdrop, it became easy for me to imagine Jesus returning and calling to Himself the faithful followers who were working with orphans, serving in soup kitchens, or washing the feet of widows. Meanwhile, the people Jesus didn’t choose were free to continue burning down church buildings or kicking puppies or whatever awful thing He caught them doing at the moment of His Second Coming…

But when Jesus describes His return in Matthew 24, we find the one caught up with Jesus and the one left behind both engaged in the exact same activities. The scenarios He shares are of two men working in a field and two women grinding grain at a mill. Two simple everyday activities straight out of the Just Ordinary Life Manual.

Yes, serving in soup kitchens can be great, and no, you shouldn’t burn down church buildings, but for a moment, let it seep into your soul what Jesus is saying about His return… People will be doing ordinary things. And there are ways to do ordinary things that are pleasing to God and ways that are not.

I have no idea if the man left behind in the field had some awful hidden sin or if the woman taken to the Lord’s side fed a thousand homeless people every week, but I do know that Jesus didn’t describe a dramatic human scene for His return, but a couple of common ones.

We, like Samuel at David’s anointing, can look at others who seem so amazing and say: “Surely, this is the Lord’s anointed…” and forget where the eyes of the Lord really are: “I do not look at the things you humans look at…I look at the heart.” No matter where we are or what we do, from the simple to the sensational; in wheat fields or soccer fields, from mills for grinding, to malls for shopping, our hearts can respond in worship to the Lord.

More than the activities themselves, God is looking at the why of what we do. Jesus, help me today to focus on the attitude of my heart in the midst of my actions. Bless each ordinary moment as an opportunity to worship an extraordinary God.