Ordinary Life
Just a Day, Just an ordinary day. - Vanessa Carlton
Several months ago I listened to an interview with Andrew Petiprin on the Steve Brown Etc. podcast. Among other things, Andrew is Canon to the Ordinary at his Episcopal church. In typical SBE fashion, the hosts gave him some good-natured ribbing about that title until the guest explained that the Ordinary is the bishop, or the "one who ordains," thus making Andrew the assistant to the bishop. What I found interesting in all this was that the word we use for something that is normal and every day is shared with someone who is ordained by God and ordains things in God's name.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord... (Col. 3:23)
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31)
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Ps 4:8)
All things come from God, through God, and return to God. (Rom. 11:36)
Even the most ordinary act, breathing, is ordained by God.[God] himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. (Acts 17:25)
God has ordained that his creation has life and provision (Luke 12:22-30), multiplies and raises children (Gen. 1:28, Prov. 22:6), works (1 Tim. 5:8), helps others (Prov. 3:27, John 15:12), and even rests (Ex.20:9-10, Ps.127:2). Our everyday lives fulfill what God has ordained. Manufacturers and farmers produce the goods that salespeople distribute to provide for our needs and enhance our lives. Parents have children and, with help from family, teachers, and pastors, teach them how to become productive members of society. Janitors and maintenance workers keep our workplaces clean and organized so office staff can work more efficiently and safely. Doctors, nurses, police, and firefighters work to keep others healthy and safe. Even when we read, play, and relax we are fulfilling God's command to rest. Most of us will never live the life of a C. S. Lewis, Billy Graham, Albert Einstein, Nelson Mandela, Bono, or Tim Tebow. But neither did some important people mentioned in scripture. The Bible contains two lists of Jesus Christ's ancestors (Matthew 1: 2-16, Luke 3:23-38). Within these genealogies, you will find names such as Abiud, Azor, Eliud, Matthan, Esli, and Amminadab. What all these people have in common is that their names appear nowhere else in scripture except in these lists. Their lives were so unassuming that all we know about them is the name of one of their parents and one of their children, if even that! [1] Yet, God used them to bring about the birth of the one whose life and death would reconcile man to Maker. Our sphere of influence is rather limited, a mere drop in the bucket compared to the entirety of the earth's population. Still, every interaction we have is important to God. If all we do lasts no longer than our lifetime, that would be fine for it was His will. However, like Jesus' ancestors, what we do today, however seemingly insignificant, might start a ripple that will grow, and one day affect a multitude, because we live for a God who can take the ordinary and make it extraordinary![1] While the purpose of these genealogies was to trace Jesus' family line all the way back to Adam and Abraham, they were not intended to be exhaustive. In many cases, there is a gap of one or more generations between one name and the next.