The Movement

Life can get boring. If you view your days as merely the small cycle of work, home, and play, without the wildly expansive element of ministry, there comes a point where it loses its appeal.

We are eternal creatures, made for eternal purposes. C. S. Lewis said that if you could see the person next to you as they will appear in eternity (a creature so hideous you would hide your face, or so magnificent you would think they were a god to be worshiped), it would change the way you live.

"There are no ordinary people," Lewis said. In that light, he goes on to say that we should live our lives with the awareness that we are helping shape the destiny of people for eternity ... every single person we meet.

Your Role

Paul received grace from God for a purpose (just like you). His unique role was to "preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 3:8-10 ESV).

He was part of the great plan that was revealing God's glory to creatures in the heavenly places. And so are you.

And there is an eternal agenda in fulfilling that plan: "This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord" (v. 11). The movement of which you are a part is not simply temporal.

As a follower of Christ and minister of the gospel (which you are, just as much as any pastor or missionary), you are a vital part of a MOVEMENT. It's not "Occupy Wall Street" or some small, temporary moment in history.

It is the grand sweep of God's redemptive activity through the ages. It never stops. It will soon come to fruition and be summed up in an incredible consummation.

It involves the lives of men and the glory of God. It leads to every knee bowing and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11). It is vital, and you are on the front lines of this movement, whether you realize it or not.

Your Perspective

This thought puts the daily routine in a different light. It means that every decision, conversation, and circumstance has meaning. It means that your life matters.

It means that you cannot waste time in trivial pursuits. It means that suffering and hardship should be seen in light of God's sovereign purposes to manifest Himself through you, "whether by life or by death," as Paul said to the Philippians (1:20).

It makes you realize that, as a redeemed human being in God's image and now filled with His life, you are His means of administering this magnificent work, of forwarding the movement of the eternal God. It means that for you, "to live is Christ" (v. 21).

Now, go face the day.

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