Romans 14:23 ESV
…For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Out of sincere hearts and sincere desires, so many Christians live tormented by the lingering thought that their impact on the world has been disappointing to God compared to what others have done. We long to be used by God for His highest purposes. We read about others who seem to be used by God in such significant ways while our lives are mired in the insignificant details of daily living. It is so easy to compare ourselves to others and feel like we have come up short in terms of importance and relevance because what we do in life doesn’t seem to be world changing. It is imperative that we understand spiritual significance is not determined by the nature of the activity we do but by the origin of the activity. God’s highest purposes are found in whatever activity Jesus initiates. I’ve had the opportunity to minister to crowds of many thousands and also to minister to a handful of people or the one. Because everything Jesus does carries the same level of being special and significant, ministering to the one for a handful was just as important and full of glory as ministering to the many thousands. I’m not doing something more anointed when I pray for a deaf person to be healed, than when I’m sitting in a lounge chair watching one of my grandsons play baseball. Now, if Jesus wanted me to stop and pray for someone who is deaf, but instead, I go and watch a grandson play baseball, then that is unspiritual and sinful. On the other hand, if Jesus’s story for my life is to watch my grandson play baseball and instead I pray for someone who is death, then that is unspiritual and sinful. Again, it is not the nature of the activity; it is the origin of the activity that gives it importance. Everything Jesus does, whether it is sitting around the fire and having breakfast with His disciples or miraculously feeding 5000 men plus their families with five loaves and two fish, has the same significance to Him. Recently, Jesus spoke into my heart, “I let you do the most important things.” He said that just before I was about to minister to about six or seven people. Up to that point, I had spoken to a number of individuals I had encountered that day, saying significant things to them like, “Good morning,” or “How’s it going today.” I realized when Jesus said to me – You get to do the most important things – He was talking about all those casual moments also. You see, I was abiding in Christ, allowing Jesus to be the origin of my activity, and He considered it all spiritual, special, and full of glory. It’s time we stop counting and simply enjoy flowing in the life that He lives through us because an extraordinary life is not measured by God based on what we consider to be important things. Instead, an extraordinary life is the life that Jesus lives, regardless of the nature of the activity.