* Mundane

By Jon Walker

“The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.” (Luke 2:20 NLT)

Since it’s the New Year, you may be wondering why we’re meditating on another Christmas verse. I delayed this devotional until today for the simple reason that most of us are now returning to the routine of life after celebrating the birth of Jesus. We’re back in the office; we’re back at school; we’re back to whatever we normally do.

Notice that the shepherds did the same thing. God sent them a message through his heavenly host, and they found the baby Jesus in a manager, just as the angel said they would. They marveled at God and knew they’d been blessed to see the Messiah’s arrival.

But they also returned to their fields and flocks. They returned with an energized faith, glorifying and praising God. But they still returned to their fields and flocks.

That’s because God uses the ordinary more often than the extraordinary to transform us into reflections of Jesus. Yes, he takes us to the mountaintop; he shows us great miracles and wonders, but he doesn’t leaves us there because he knows the strength of our faith grows in the day-to-day, mundane work required in the fields and among the flocks we tend.

Here, in the fields of our workplace and among the flocks of our family and friends, we learn to love one another. It is where we die to Christ, allowing his life to blossom within us: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NIV)

The things we truly believe emerge in the day-to-day of our lives. It’s the conflicts over who makes the coffee, who cleans up the mess, who gets to go home early, or who gets the biggest piece of pie that test whether it is Christ who lives in us, or if we’re still saying, ‘It is I who live.’

But God’s lessons are mastery-based, meaning his intent is not to catch you doing something wrong; his intent is to reveal where you still need to yield to the life of Christ in you.

What now?

· See God in your day – Think of it this way: When you left the manger, you didn’t leave God behind. He’s with you right now; Christ lives in you. Ask God to guide you as you die to self and let Christ live through you.

· Thank God for the routine of your life – Just as the shepherds returned to their fields and flocks glorifying and praising God, praise God in your circumstances. Reflect upon the many things times God has answered your prayers, or blessed you by telling you where to find the answer. Tell other people about the things God is doing in your life.

· Wait upon the Lord – Are you feeling stuck in your circumstances? When the Jewish people were held captive in Babylon, God didn’t send immediate relief; rather, he told them to get on with their lives, living with the faith that he had their best interest in mind. “Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:5-7, NIV)