Made for Eternal Things

Last night, I set my alarm for 6 am, which is about an hour earlier than I normally get up. When the alarm went off, I laid there and wrestled a bit. 

“Set snooze? Just 10 minutes? I’ll definitely get up after the first snooze.”

But then, through the darkness, I saw the outline of canvas on the wall across from my bed. I couldn’t read it, nor remember what it said, but I knew it was something important. The kind of phrase that doesn’t allow for hitting the snooze button.

I laid there a minute more. What was going to win today -- comfort or dreams? I convinced myself that I would still have a little more quiet time that morning with a cup of tea. I got out of bed, hit the kettle and took a shower. 

More than turning off the snooze button, a larger win was not checking social media. I began my day without comparison, without mindless scrolling and without ruining my eyesight to blurrily search for something worthwhile.

After my shower and with a cup of herbal tea in hand, I sat down to read Hebrews. I’ve been reading through the New Testament this year with sprints of enthusiasm and weeks of half-hearted journaling. On my way to Hebrews, a verse in 1 Timothy caught my idea. On Saturday, I was searching for that verse on running the good race, and here was “fight the good fight of faith.” It wasn’t that passage, but it was something I needed to hear. 

“Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

My soared with the words “take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” Today, I feel like I’m finally doing that. I’m taking hold of my life and working hard (as worship) in the tasks and dreams He’s given me. It was also a much-needed reminder though to check my ambition. In the verses above, Paul warns Timothy about the lure of money and false godliness.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” (1 Timothy 6: 6-7)

“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things (money, etc.) Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:11)

It reminded me that all this ambition and excitement is worthless if it’s not focused on eternal things. Only the eternal, only the Christ-centered works will last. When we remember this, we have godliness with contentment. 

My friend Caroline wrote these words in her beautiful song, “Human Being”:

Teach me to number my days, 

Turn my eyes from worthless things. 

I want to see my children and watch them grow. 

I want to pray in the secret where no one knows. 

Look up at the stars and turn down the noise,

And listen for that still, small voice.

Want to lay down the trifles and choose the feast, 

‘Cause we were made for eternal things.”

I love these lyrics, because lately I’ve been missing the point of living with eternal hope. I thought it was okay to coast through my earthly life a little more, because after all, eternal life would be beautiful and satisfying in every way. 

Yet if I truly understand Christ’s gift of eternal life, it starts now. Not at death, not at heaven. We are a part of bringing His kingdom to earth today. Therefore, we should run hard and fast. We should be excited and overjoyed and passionate about the work set in front of us. 

So Lord, teach me to number my days. The kingdom is here and now.

Turning Work into Worship

Lately, I’ve been wrestling with how to align my work and my passions. There’s a ton of advice out there. My secular self-help podcasts say to go all in. My Christian friends say to slow down. I bounce from one end of the spectrum to the other. 

One day, it’s all about my dreams, my brand, my ideas. “I can do it!” Then I rave to everyone about my new big, beautiful dream that’s mostly all about me. 

A week later, I am overwhelmed by wanting and trying and feeling that I need to do it all. I swing to the other end of the spectrum. All my happiness is in finding balance. Chasing rest, I strip my life of the crazy ideas, hoping I’ll find happiness in the mundane.

Then the big ideas come back, and I’m confused again. Why do I want more when I’ve already been given so much? “I must be really bad at trusting God.” 

Or maybe I was thinking about work all wrong.

One theology of work says this: Fulfill your spiritual needs at church; fulfill your physical needs at work. Your career, your city, your individual dreams -- these are not important. You find satisfaction in Christ alone, and guess what, those aren’t really all that essential.

There’s some truth there. Circumstances do not define my joy. I thought I could prove that I was satisfied in him by not changing my circumstances. So I waited. Don’t change anything. Find peace. 

Here’s another theology of work: If God is a Creator and we’re made in his image, they we’re also made to create. We’re made to work. By working well with the passions and talents He gave us, we can worship Him. 

Over the next few months, I’m on a journey to find how I can best worship the Lord with my work. I believe we can both savor life slowly and run fast ahead. I’ll savor it with time in the Word and long talks with friends, but I’ll also run fast ahead, pursuing the skills and passions He gave me.

Inspired by Psalm 16, I’m living each day for Him.

I have set the Lord always before me;

    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

With the Lord before me, He is my heart and song. All my work glorifies him. He is my Creator, and in His image, I am a creator. All he asks of me is to follow him, to worship him, to love others. In this peace, I am steady. I am satisfied. 

Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;

    my flesh also dwells secure.

When my whole being rejoices, I am working -- writing, painting, drawing, planning, cooking, talking, and dreaming. He gave me these skills, and all good things come from Him. For that reason, I want to throw myself into a big dream and knock it out of the park. Not so people think, “she’s living her best life” but because I believe there is hope for a more beautiful, more just world.

1 Corinthians 12:18-20

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Many of my friends and family draw close and glorify the Lord in different ways -- creating a home where people see His love, studying long hours to teach the Word, running an ethical business that cares for their employees. These are beautiful pursuits, and I don’t want anyone to read my words and feel like they have to try this too. 

It’s not about you and what you’re becoming. It’s about Him and what he has made you to do.