muses

Just as I shared that all of our deeds can be performed to the glory of God, A.W. Tozer also pointed out some things that I didn’t know of in the past:

It does not mean… that everything we do is of equal importance with everything else we do or we may do. One act of a good man’s life may differ widely from another in importance. Paul’s sewing of tents was not equal to his writing of an Epistle to the Romans, but both were accepted of God and both were true acts of worship. Certainly it is more important to lead a soul to Christ than to plant a garden, but the planting of the garden can be as holy an act as the winning of a soul.

Again, it does not mean that every man is as useful as every other man. Gifts differ in the body of Christ. A Billy Bray is not to be compared with a Luther or a Wesley for sheer usefulness to the church and to the world; but the service of the less gifted brother is as pure as that of the more gifted, and God receives both with equal pleasure.

The ‘layman’ need never think of his humbler task as being inferior to that of his minister. … It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it. The motive is everything. Let a man sanctify the Lord God in his heart (i.e. to set apart his heart for God) and he can therefore do no common act. All he does is good and acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

I realised that the truth shared by Tozer is related to what was taught in Youth Fellowship for the last month. When Christ is the centre of my life and everything is aligned to Him – that is true worship. I used to think that one who display personal worship in his/her life would lift hands and break into songs spontaneously every day (ha, ha). Yes, I had such silly thoughts. And now I’m just starting to learn how to worship God in what I do, especially in work, which I give at least 8.5 hours to every weekday.

I’ve finished reading a book by one of my favourite authors last week and the last chapter has reminded me of truth that I’ve learned and shed light on those that I didn’t know. I will share the truth that God has reinforced first. In A.W. Tozer’s the Pursuit of God, the chapter titled ‘the Sacrament of Living’ touched on the issue of Sacred vs. Secular, and discussed the believers’ response toward sacred acts (e.g. prayer, Bible reading) and ordinary activities (e.g. working, eating, washing my laundry). Toward the latter, he wrote,

These we often do reluctantly and with many misgivings, often apologising to God for what we consider a waste of time and strength. The upshot of this is that we are uneasy most of the time. We go about our common tasks with a feeling of deep frustration, telling ourselves pensively that there’s a better day coming when we shall slough off this earthly shell and be bothered no more with the affairs of this world… Most Christians are caught in this trap. They cannot get a satisfactory adjustment between the tightrope between two kingdoms (the spiritual and natural) and they find no peace in either. Their strength is reduced, their outlook confused and their joy is taken from them.

Yes, there were times that I wonder why I gave my time to activities that seemed purposeless and dull. If I’m a full-time Christian worker, then perhaps my life would be more pleasing to God. That was my immature thought. And God had already corrected me through the verse in 1 Cor. 10,

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (v. 31)

The word of God has opened the possibility of our every act contributing to the glory of God. And in Jesus’ life, He demonstrated a life that pleased God in all things (John 8:29). So my life is not made holier because of supposedly ‘holier’ deeds or work; my mundane life can be worship unto God when I offer all my acts to Him in faith (even ironing the clothes). But as Tozer said, this would only come with committed prayer to get away from the twisted opinion of the sacred-secular divide. And the evil one would be there ‘to remind the Christian that he is giving the better part of the day to the things of the world and allotting to his religious duties only a trifling portion of his time.’ And as you know, it is but to discourage and confuse us. So be on guard! And pray!

I am crucified with Christ
Therefore I no longer live
Jesus Christ now lives in me

Embrace the cross
Where Jesus suffered
Though it will cost
All you claim as yours
Your sacrifice will seem small
Beside the treasure
Eternity can’t measure
What Jesus holds in store

Embrace the love
The cross requires
Cling to the one
Whose heart knew every pain
Receive from Jesus
Fountains of compassion
For only He can fashion
Your heart to move as His

Oh, wondrous cross our desires rest in you
Lord Jesus make us bolder
To face with courage the shame and disgrace
You bore upon Your shoulder

Embrace the life
That comes from dying
Come trace the steps
The Saviour walked for you
An empty tomb
Concludes Golgotha’s sorrow
Endure then till tomorrow
Your cross of suffering
Embrace the cross
Embrace the cross
The cross of Jesus

I attended a course on tools for creativity and innovation for the past two days. I must say that it was very interesting and the trainer taught us more than what the title of the course suggested. In fact, quite a bit of what he shared with us were spiritual principles. What we take into our head would affect our heart and consequently, our hands. That’s why we have to guard what we see, think and hear. In fact, his observation was that Singaporeans watch too much TV, which is true. In fact, it was funny to observe the expression of that in one of the activities. We were supposed to think of a problem and then tailor or transform an unconventional solution to something useful. Two groups brainstormed ideas to becoming a millionaire and both thought that marrying dying rich old ladies would be interesting solutions. And where did we get the idea from? TV lah. But that only showed me how relevant the word of God is, that God had already instructed His people to be filled with His word rather than be influenced by the world. I was reminded of this from my Quiet Time in Rom 12, ‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will’ (verses 1-2).

Ahem… I think I’ve caused alarm to some people because of my previous blog entry. First of all, let me say that I took the measure to cancel my voice mail because, yes, I was irritated with the repeated messages and calls from the voice mail number to check the messages, but also because the free three-month service has ended. It was a totally utilitarian purpose. I’m sorry if I have worried some people unnecessarily.

As I looked back at this episode, I can only say that God was sovereign in it all. He allowed me to see my weakness, so that I would learn to repent and trust. It was all according to His good, pleasing and perfect will.

Ok, perhaps I should shed some light on the episode. As I mentioned, someone gave my mobile number to a person, let’s call her A, and she has been calling me persistently since. It’s not that A is deliberately harassing me, it’s just that she got into some trouble and she called me for help. Unfortunately, she didn’t realise that her actions were causing distress to me, because she called me all the time (during work, at night… …). And when I said that she doesn’t have a sound mind, I didn’t mean to demean her; she really has the mental capacity of a child although she’s an adult. And so I was irritated because A called me for help and I felt obliged to help her, and that caused inconvenience to me. That was why I went to my workplace on Saturday morning, as some of you asked me after youth fellowship why I was dressed up that day. I went to make a police report with her.

But after that I felt pity for A, because she is really underprivileged. She has few friends and there are some who despised her. And there are people who take advantage of her condition, which was the cause of the circumstance. And there I was, feeling irritated because of the little inconveniences. Makes you want to shake your head, doesn’t it? God was simply using the episode to teach me compassion for the weak. That, I really need to learn and grow in.