Do you ever feel like taking care of your daily responsibilities wears you out and doesn’t seem connected very much to your Christian faith? Afterall, other than maybe readying your Bible, 98% of what you do from wake up time until bed time is the same as non-Christians do. It is hard to see much spiritual significance in the daily grind.
But, the Apostle Paul had a different view of the daily grind. He wrote, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10). If I understand Scripture correctly, the good works you do everyday to meet your God-given responsibilities well not only matter to God, but he crafted you to accomplish those specific responsibilities! That loads these mundane activities with eternal significance! Let’s consider, in more detail, what it means to be God’s workmanship.
Rick Warren of Saddleback Church uses the acrostic, SHAPE to portray God’s unique design of each Christ-follower, i.e. Spiritual gifts, Heart passions, Abilities, Personality, Experiences.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS. God has intentionally given each of us one or more. Here is the list from Romans 12:6-8, (with my amplification).
- Prophet (ability to see and reveal the cancer of sin)
- Server (ability to see and meet practical needs of others)
- Teacher (one eye on what is being taught, the other eye on orthodoxy. They are the church’s “doctrine-check” software)
- Exhorter (focus on the application of Scripture to everyday life)
- Giver (ability to secure, manage, and provide financial resources for kingdom work)
- Leader (one who stands out in front of others as their leader or organizer)
- Mercy Shower (one eye on a fellow human being, the other eye on his or her pain)
HEART PASSIONS. If you were independently wealthy and could be engaged full time in a ministry that shows Christ and his love to any subgroup in our culture, what would that group be? It might be those who are especially needy, e.g. the homeless, those going through divorce, latch key kids, sons of single moms who need a male role model, those with alcohol, drug, or sexual addictions, prisoners, the forgotten elderly, those recovering from grief, etc. Or, it could just be a subset of those in the culture, high school or middle school kids (God help you), singles, men, dads, internationals, corporate managers, businessmen, etc. A heart passion to reach a specific group is not accidental. It is part of the way God has, providentially shaped each of us.
ABILITIES. Before the foundation of the world, God decided to give you the innate artistic, athletic, mechanical, musical, organizational, intellectual, mathematical, writing, speaking, or empathizing abilities that you have. Or not. He has ordained the plan by which those abilities have been developed in you. Or not. You and I have, and don’t have, various human abilities precisely according to God’s plan.
PERSONALITY. No matter whether you are more introverted or extraverted, intuitive or sensing, thinking or feeling, judging or perceiving, God made no mistakes in designing your personality. Whether it is Myers-Briggs, DISC, or some other personality test that helps us understand ourselves better, we can be sure God’s original blueprint for us was unique and exact.
EXPERIENCES. God plans experiences into our lives that shape us—even suffering. Not only does he store our tears in his bottle, he plans to use that pain to benefit others. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Cor 1:3-4). Even the pain you endure is part of his design to shape you for your mission.
Here is the point. Your unique combination of spiritual gifts, heart passions, abilities, personality traits, and experiences have combined to put you into the exact station in life where you find yourself, i.e. having the spouse, family, career, coworkers, church membership, friends, neighbors, interests, hobbies, and citizenship that you have. And that is where you are to accomplish your mission for Christ.
It is in each of these spheres of your life that you seek to accomplish Christ’s agenda of righteousness, (Called TO EXERCISE DOMINION FOR Christ). Consider, for example your workplace. Here are some aspects of Christ's agenda of righteousness there:
- Working to see that each worker is treated with dignity as one made in God’s image
- Working for justice—fair policies especially for the disenfranchised and least powerful
- Establishing a climate of integrity, where the truth is told, not hidden and where promises are kept, not broken
- Eliminating behind the back criticism of others in your sphere of work
- Caring for your team as real humans, not just contributors to the team
- Being alert to those whose home or health situations cause them to bring a lot of pain to work
- Setting a high standard in serving the customer
It is in each of these spheres of your life that you seek to show Jesus’ character to others. (Called TO BE LIKE Christ). Being patient with YOUR wife, understanding with YOUR daughter, unselfish with YOUR coworkers, forgiving of YOUR extended family members, generous towards YOUR neighbors, etc. is your mission.
And, it is while traveling through everyday life conducted in these spheres, that we need to pursue the other component to our mission, an abiding relationship with Christ (Called TO Christ). Only as I rely upon Christ, staying connected to him, do I have the power to implement Christ’s agenda of righteous behavior and Christ-like attitudes.
Your daily responsibilities may seem unimportant and unspiritual. Yet, accomplishing these responsibilities the way Jesus would is your mission, determined for you before the beginning of time! They become the daily good works that were not only planned for you by your creator; he intentionally shaped you to walk in them.
