Ministry in the Mundane

"Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." ~Matthew 20:28

THE MUNDANE

The mundane. The practical, ordinary, even commonplace things of life. But certainly not the transitory. I am continually impressed with the thought that we live for and serve the Lord in the mundane.

The girls and I were studying today in John 15 that just before Jesus left His disciples His final words were about love. Love that is evidenced by 1. Obedience to God's commands and 2. Love to one another.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. ~John 15:9-17

And we know what love is. God has told us. In addition to love being obedience to God (John 15:14): "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." ~1 Corinthians 13:4

Patience. Kindness. Humility. The in and out and everyday little things. Mundane, but not temporal. This is the fruit that will last (John 15:16).

We serve Him in the big things only if we have first learned to serve Him in the small things. We don't live for ourselves day in and day out and then become martyrs when the pressure is on. No. We are faithful in the little things first. It's the mundane- the small daily acts of love and service within the home that make up the bulk of our lives. It is in these small things that we take up our cross- the instrument of death- to die to ourselves and live to Christ on a daily basis.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITIES

Lately when I think of the mundane tasks I perform, I truly see them as golden opportunities.

It is mundane to patiently guide a child to their Savior when they are struggling~ again with the same thing they have been struggling with all day... all week... all month. Our flesh would love to look the other way at times. Oh, but this is what we were made for! These are the precious, golden opportunities of life.

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates." ~Deuteronomy 6:6-9

It is mundane to keep house and cook. Have you heard this statistic?

"Americans are actually spending a good deal more time watching television about cooking than cooking. The average household does only about 27 minutes of cooking a day*." ~Al Mohler, "Lost Art of Great Cooking."

And yet, nothing is quite as human as our daily need for nourishing food. Nothing quite says I love you like making someone's favorite comfort food and dishing it up with care.

It is mundane to fill a sippy cup with water or help a little one reach something they cannot reach.

"If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." ~Matthew 10:43

It is mundane to clean up after little ones. To daily wash hands and feet.

"If then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet." ~John 13:12

It is mundane just to turn our hearts wholly to our families rather than to pursue our own interests.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." ~Philippians 2:3-4

May God richly bless you as you live for Him in the precious, golden opportunities of each day (cleverly disguised as the mundane).

Blessings,

_________________

postscript: To those I owe e-mails~ please accept my sincere apology. I usually respond after the little ones are in bed at night and I am trying to respond to homeschool inquiries right now, as those have a time constraint. Thank you for your patience. I love hearing from you! : )