24/7

Christians sometimes feel a pressure to be “spiritual” all the time. But to separate the spiritual from the ordinary is to say that Jesus is not King over those everyday moments in life. We should learn from Jesus to embrace the mundane moments—even the silly, fun ones—and find God’s fingerprints of grace within them. If we can do this, we will learn to see God in a fuller dimension.

Jesus didn’t come just to save our souls; He came to redeem every part of our lives. When we give our whole lives to Him—food, drink, work, play, body, spirit, and family—we glorify God by living into the beauty He meant for us.

I like to picture what the feasts in the Bible must have been like. In the time when Jesus lived, meals were not nice, orderly things. I imagine dusty garments, loud arguments, pungent spices, and stinky feet. Jesus’ ministry not only allowed for these meals; it took place in the context of them.

Not all holy moments are somber and serious. If Jesus discipled His apostles in the midst of food, drink, laughter, and mundane moments, I believe we should too. Instead of viewing them as spiritual “downtime,” we should see them as the times when God is most likely to work.

Our laughter can glorify God as much as our thoughtful meditation.

Serving pizza to a houseful of teenagers can strike spiritual gold.

We must learn to cherish all the moments of our lives and to call them holy.

His Promises

He will once again fill your mouth with laughter

and your lips with shouts of joy.

So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him!

Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.