As a congregation, our theme for 2011 will be "Every Day with Jesus." As I prayed and asked the Lord to give us direction for the year ahead, He brought this phrase to my mind. In the course of daily ministry, I find that many of the challenges people encounter would be much easier to handle if they sought to focus on Jesus more each day. But what does that look like in "every day life?"
In the busy-ness of our lives, we often lose focus on our relationship with God. We often focus on other relationships, our jobs, our homes, our hobbies, or ourselves independent of our relationship with God. Yet God is at work in every area and relationship of our lives, each day. But we must begin to seek to find Him at work in each of these areas, every day.
A monk from the 17th century named Brother Lawrence was someone who sought to do just that. He said, "We should fix ourselves firmly in the presence of God by conversing all the time with Him... We should put life into our faith... We should give ourselves utterly to God in pure abandonment, in temporal and spiritual matters alike, and find contentment in the doing of His will, whether He takes us through sufferings or consolations." He also said that he "was happy to pick up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking Him alone, purely, and nothing else, not even His gifts."
Jesus' remarks in John 15 are instructive here. In speaking about our relationship with Him, He says, "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5) The fruit of which Jesus speaks are things that are in line with the will of God, things which please Him and make Him known in the world. Brother Lawrence understood that when he did things simply out of love for God, he found his faith strengthened and that he grew much closer in his relationship with God.
But he was a monk, you say. It was easy for him to be so devoted to God for that was his sole (and soul) preoccupation. But he struggled with it just as you and I do. He had regular "every day living" tasks to perform that were boring and not fulfilling by nature, just as you and I do. In reading the short book about him, "The Practice of the Presence of God", however, you find that it was in the menial day-to-day chores that he learned how to make this abundant life with God a reality. You and I can do the same.
"A little perseverance," he said, "was needed at first to form the habit of conversing all the time with God and referring all actions to Him. However, after a little care one felt stirred by His love without any trouble... We ought to act very simply with God, speaking familiarly with Him, and asking Him for help in situations as they arise." He trained himself to do everything for the love of God, whether it was a task he enjoyed or not, and he prayed constantly for the the grace to do his work. As he did so, God was faithful to help him and sustain him in his work.
God will do the same for us! Jesus said, "Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in Me" (John 15:4). I do not believe that in choosing the words "remain in Me" Jesus means an occasional prayer and attending worship when it is convenient for you. I think Brother Lawrence had a better understanding of what Jesus meant by "remaining in Him." It is an every moment, every hour, every day thing. And as he discovered, there is extraordinary joy to be gained as we “remain in God” all the time.
It would be wonderful if there was a switch we could turn or a simple prayer we could pray to cause us to remain in Him the way we might like to do. But it takes God's help as we work to submit each moment, each task, each conversation, and each day to Him. This work requires submission and discipline, with which God promises to empower us. But more than that, it requires a love for God that creates within us a desire to remain in Him.
It is difficult to fully love something or someone with whom we spend little time. A famous preacher once said that Love is spelled TIME. If we want to love God more, we must spend time with Him, time in conversation (prayer), in meditation (pondering God and His works), in His Word (reading the Bible for devotions and for study), in fellowship with His people (allowing others to be used by God to bless you and you doing the same for them), and time in worship (giving God the praise and adoration He alone is due). All of these can be done in the course of our daily lives, if we love God enough to make time for them.
Take a moment and think of the things that are a part of your daily life now. How many of them were added at one point in the past because you made time in your schedule for them? We are good at making time for the things we really desire, and really good at creating reasons to put off doing things we don't. In order for our relationships with God to be more than they are now, we must make more time for Him each day in 2011.
Hence our theme for the year - "Every Day with Jesus." Is this a lofty goal? Admittedly it is. Is there a more noble goal for our congregation? I believe there is not at this time. In order to fulfill our mission of "Building Committed Followers of Jesus" as a congregation, we must first be a congregation of "committed followers of Jesus." We must seek God's help to be more like Brother Lawrence and to live every day performing every deed for the love of God.
Can we do it? With God's help, Jesus tells us that it is possible. Will we desire to do it? That will be up for us to decide. Since the things of this life are temporary, we should prepare for 2011 by asking God to give us His perspective on our lives and to draw us deeper into relationship with Him as we seek to live "Every Day with Jesus." As we do, I know He will.
Your fellow traveler on the journey following Jesus,
Pastor Tim
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