Thursday, February 11, 2010

EMMDEV 2010-02-11 [Reality Bytes] Sacred

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians2:10
You only have to move one letter to turn "SACRED" into "SCARED."
Life has many of us SCARED. There are the fears we have of physical dangers - crime, accidents, disease, natural disasters etc. But there are the deeper fears that have us awake at 4am in the morning:
- "Is it worth it? Is there any purpose to this life?"
- "Am I up to scratch? Do I have anything to offer?"
- "How can I forgive myself for the ways I have failed?"
Most of us go through life insecure and intimidated. We measure ourselves by the airbrushed models, plastic celebrities and the hyped-up tycoons and conclude that we're failures. This "so-called reality" comes along and "bites" us and we live SCARED lives.
Scripture has a different perspective: We are Masterpieces (that's what the Greek word for "workmanship" implies) and life is purposeful and we are valuable. Life is SACRED!!!
Nancy Guthrie points out that we are not masterpieces like the Mona Lisa which hangs passively behind glass. We are masterpieces like a Stradivarius Violin which is best appreciated when it is played by a Master Musician.
The _reality_ is that God has created us and even though the decay of sin has dirtied our body and rusted our strings, the Master Musician can clean me and restore me and make beautiful music with my life.
It's about understanding that even giving a cup of water can be an act that glorifies Him. So stop being SCARED, cease trying to be someone else, embrace who God has made you to be and listen to Him in the small stuff and you will find that life is SACRED.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/