The Pure in Heart
10:53 AM
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.
Blessings,
Roxanna
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