Have you ever seen a ship battle a storm?
I know it feels like we’re weathering our own storm right now, but I want to focus on another aspect to storms. I’ve always wondered what a sailor would feel in the face of a storm at sea. Once, I heard a sailor remark, “In a storm, what you really hope for is that no one building the ship took any shortcuts.”
That left me thinking. How often do we take shortcuts in life?
Doing Everything for the Glory of God
I know I tend to take quite a few shortcuts, because, to be honest, patience is still a virtue I’m working on!
When we enjoy doing something, we do our best… but the rest may not exactly be a work of art. If we’re impatient, we just try to get our task over with, so we can move on to the next task
at hand.
How often do we compromise on quality?
Recently as I thought about what the sailor had said, 1 Corinthians 10:31 popped into my head: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
I have read and heard this verse many times, but still, each time I do, I see another facet to it.
In this verse, Paul tells us that everything we do should be done for the glory of God. That includes both leading the church worship team as well as doing the dishes. It includes both the things many people see, and the things that barely anyone notices. It especially includes the tasks that require patience!
We always tend to do something better if others can see it. But the Bible commands that whatever we do, we should do for God’s glory. And I don’t want to give anything less than my best to God.
Do Everything With All Your Heart
Now, before I proceed further, let me say this: none of us will be perfect on this side of heaven. We are all fallen humans striving to be more like our Savior. Also, it is not that God only accepts the perfect parts of our lives. He loves and cares for us beyond comprehension. He loves us as we are.
That being said, we are still stewards of the time, talents and resources God has given us. No matter what the task at hand is, our primary goal must be to glorify God.
But why should we do everything with all our heart?
God sees everything in our lives, and no matter how small the task we carry out may be, and when we do it to glorify him, we follow his will.
I see a lot of people doing great things for God. But they didn’t necessarily start at such a large-scale. For example, I wonder if we would have had the Rebelution movement if Alex and Brett Harris had not diligently gone through their summer reading program!
Not all summer reading programs change the world.
But anything done diligently and for God’s glory, can and will be used for the furthering of his kingdom.
How Does This Affect Us Today?
I know this is hard. It has always been so, but glorifying God seems to be an especially daunting task now. Many of us, including myself, tend to think about seemingly bigger problems that we face today.
We have to stay at home, and wait out a virus outbreak, not to mention it’s underlying implications.
But as I thought about this, I realized that as Christians, we do not have to fear death, illness or anything else on this earth. Just as Paul says in Romans 8:38-39:
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor power, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God has everything in the ‘hollow of his hands’. We just have to trust him.
Though I’m restricted in my travel outside, there are still many ways to glorify God. I can call up my grandparents to ask how they are doing, spend time in prayer, prepare for my upcoming school year (if God wills) and maybe even brush up on a bit of apologetics!
When we remember that God is in control, no matter what the situation, we are able to see how we can glorify him from wherever we are. And when we work hard to glorify God, we worry less as we see his work in our lives.
Instead of simply waiting out the virus outbreak, I am trying to work it out–using my time at home not to complain about anything, but to productively use and work on my talents and resources to glorify God–in whatever way possible.
That’s why, when you realize that whatever you do, your primary purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, it changes your outlook of life.
It makes you a rebelutionary.
