January 5, 2007 - 'Reality' Life

Genesis1315

Ladies
January 5, 2007
‘Reality’ life
By John Fischer

“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:10-11 NIV)

Ever wish you could be on TV? You just might be.

There is more to our lives than meets the eye. Sometimes we seem mired in routine. We go through the motions of living but much of it can seem well outside the realm of making any real difference in the world. The purpose driven message is appealing to us because we want to feel we are accomplishing something with our lives, but what?

Is anybody watching? Does anybody care what happens in my life? The verses above would seem to indicate that there is more than just the physical stuff we deal with every day. This literally says that God is displaying something through us (the Church) “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” Now who could that be? Well, I’m not sure exactly, and I’m not so sure it matters to us, practically speaking, except that it isn’t anybody you or I know or see. It would appear to be an unseen audience of relatively significant heavenly beings observing what is being worked out here on earth through what God is doing in the Church. Now, could that include our daily lives – even those moments lived outside of anyone’s physical presence? Well, we’re the Church aren’t we? Do we ever stop being the Church? Are we the Church only when we are assembled together or are we the Church all the time wherever we are?

In the “reality” TV shows that are so popular now, a camera follows a group of people and captures slices of their supposedly normal lives. (It’s hard to imagine how “normal” you can be with a camera running in your face 24-7, but for purposes of this discussion, it’s a fitting metaphor.) We would do well to imagine a similar camera on us all the time, filming for an unseen audience how God’s plan for us is working out. Kind of like “reality” TV but more like “reality” life.

Could it be that by merely living a life of faith, even in our private moments, we are having an effect on someone? If this is true, then our whole life is a mission. It’s a mission to believe. It’s a mission to resist sin. It’s a mission to love. It’s a mission to live our faith out in our daily lives. If somebody’s watching, everything matters.

The above content is provided in its entirety from purposedrivenlife.com and used with the full permission of the website. Additional archives of the Purpose Driven Life devotionals can be found in their archive.
 
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