Christian Living

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"As God and the believer work together, God's achievement is like the front of a lovely tapestry. The worker employed on such a tapestry sees only the back as he adds stitch after stitch with his needle. Yet all these stitches are slowly creating a magnificent picture which happens in all its glory only when every stitch is done and it is viewed from the right side. But all this beauty cannot be seen as it is being created."

"It is the same with the self-abandoned believer, who sees only God and his duty. To fulfill this duty moment by moment consists in adding tiny stitches to the work. Yet it is by these stitches that God accomplishes those marvels of which we sometimes catch a glimpse now, but which will not be truly known until the great day of eternity."

"How great and wise are the ways of God! All that is sublime and exalted, great and admirable in the task of achieving holiness and perfection, He has kept for His own power. But everything that is small, simple and easy He leaves us to tackle with the help of His grace." (Abandonment to Divine Providence, pg. 104)

I've often wondered what my goal in life should be as a believer. What should I strive to achieve in my life? For a long time, I believed the answer to be holiness. I should strive for holiness, to be more like Jesus in word, thought, and deed in all my waking hours with all the strength I could muster. In time, though, something changed in my thinking, a nagging doubt crept into my mind that perhaps that's not exactly the correct way to view my goal. Indeed, thought I, perhaps that holiness I'm striving for isn't to be my goal in life, but God's goal for me. He works to transform me into the image of His Son. There's a subtle difference in thinking that way. My goal, the thought came to me, is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Yes, the same aim stated in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

How did I arrive at this notion? I cannot say for certain, but after meditating on ideas for a long period of time, sometimes things just click for me; patterns weave together and understanding makes its way into my consciousness. It may be that many of you have arrived at this conclusion long ago, so for you there may be nothing new in what I write. I can only hope that those of you who have advanced so far may find some edification in what to you is a reminder, rather than the "Aha!" experience it was for me. Also, if I misstep in what I say, please do not hesitate to let me know.

If the aim of man is to glorify God, then one must wonder: how do we glorify God? That may not be as easy a question to answer as you may think, or it may be even simpler than you can imagine. When I first began to wonder about how we actually do glorify God, I began thinking of those stalwarts of the Christian faith who risk life and limb to bring the gospel to lost Amazon tribes or to remote locations in the Himalayans where cannibals live in stone huts and wear animal fur for clothes. Yes, those stalwarts do glorify God, but does God require such "big" actions to glorify Him? If so, then how can I, a simple family man who works in a research laboratory as a data manager possibly bring glory to our Lord and God. I do have visions of "bigger" things, but have received no promise that any of those visions will be brought to fruition.

How, then, do I go about glorifying God? Well, to answer this, perhaps I can give an example from my own life. After struggling with various dreams and visions I had concocted that never came to life, I decided to eschew dreams of the large and magnificent, to forgo a rabid search for my calling and wait for God to give me His vision for my life. Soon after that, I began to have a yearning to hold a prayer meeting at my home. In the past, whenever I considered such a notion, I began fantasizing about such an effort turning into something really big, a grandiose ministry that would spread God's truth to all the ends of the earth. If I didn't see the promise for something big arising from my efforts, I wouldn't pursue them. This time, though, my desire arose simply out of desire to fulfill the command to love one another. The prayer meeting wouldn't have as its target the world, but simply those who come to the meeting and anyone they wish to pray for. In beginning these meetings, my sole purpose would be to fulfill the command our Lord gave His disciples shortly before His death.

Is that a small thing? Perhaps, but I honestly believe that obedience to God is never a small thing. I have no visions of this potential prayer meeting turning into a huge ministry. If God decides to make it something big, then I would follow His will. But that's not the intent. Some Christians, I believe, worry too much about whether a particular action fits into a plan, a dream they have. If it doesn't seem to, then they don't perform that particular action. How, though, are big things created? Simply at the snap of a finger? We cannot do that. Rather, small things stitched together properly turn into those big things. Are we the weaver, though, who knows how to stitch all those small things together into the beautiful tapestry? Do we have the requisite skill? No! Rather, God weaves our tiny little actions into the beautiful tapestry that our lives, our very selves, will become if only we submit to God's wishes and obey Him. We don't know how to weave the fabric, but if we listen for God's voice and hear and obey it, we will be able to provide the stitches with which God does the knitting.

Does this mean that we shouldn't think about what to do, that we shouldn't use reason and wisdom to ponder whether to perform some particular action? No, for reason and wisdom are gifts from God. I mentioned a prayer meeting above, yet I have not yet begun that meeting. Part of the reason I have not has to do with certain limitations on my time and energy that arise from being the father of a 13 month old girl. My wife and I are overwhelmed by other duties, yet if God told us "Begin this ministry!", we would do it now. He's already told my wife and I in no uncertain terms to do a few things that seem impractical right now, including traveling 30 miles through heavy traffic to church every Sunday rather than go, say, 2 miles to a neighborhood church just as fundamental in its beliefs. Yet, our wisdom is no match for His. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, the Bible tells us. We trust that He knows better than we do, so we obey. My hope and prayer is that you do, too. Abandon your self to the will of God and rely not soley on your understanding. You shall never see the whole tapestry that your life shall be this side of heaven, but should you abandon yourself to His will, what a beautiful tapestry you shall make.

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