Everyday grace

A former Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, once said that it was a great mistake to suppose that God is interested only, or even primarily, in religion. We do have this tendency to drive a wedge between the sacred and the secular. We serve God by going to church, saying our prayers, reading our Bibles, sharing our faith, and even doing sacrificial acts of love to others.

Nothing at all wrong with any of that. But we must not assume that we have to talk about Jesus, or be some sort of official representative of a Christian group, in order to serve Jesus. I may serve God by shopping for my family as much as by shopping for some frail person who can’t get to the shops. I may serve God by being polite and friendly to a retail assistant as well as by buying a gift at the same shop for some overseas missionary.

Since God has created all things and cherishes his world in which he has placed me to serve him and others, I can assume he accepts as service all I do which contributes to the wellbeing of the world. Whether such service hits the headlines or not. Whether such service comes under the umbrella of ‘Christian work’ or not.

In fact as our text reminds us, all we do is essentially Christian work. We represent Jesus in whatever we do. We are recipients and bearers of God’s everyday grace.

Blessings
David Reay