I have been thinking a lot lately about a verse in the Bible that says,
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17
It was one of those verses that was put to music for me as a youth and so it has stuck well in my mind as I recall scripture I have memorized in the past. But this verses has once again become alive to me as I have tried to think through the implications of doing EVERYTHING in the name of the Lord Jesus.
There is so much to EVERYTHING. My day starts with a snooze or two of three different alarm clocks. Am I taking master over my time in the name of Jesus, or am I letting time be master over me. I drive into work eating a couple of bananas on the way to help me wake up. Is that the best way to eat in the name of the one who created all things? I often am racing the clock to make sure I punch in before my start time. Does that action fall under something that honors the name above all names? I have a couple of fellow UPSers who don’t have the best of reputations around the operation. Am I treating them in a way that shows off that I have been remade into a likeness of God through Christ, or do I just perpetuate the negative talk? I race home to help get the kids up and on the bus. Will my kids look back on the memory of their father and be able to think about their Heavenly Father fondly, or will they have to reject what their earthly father taught them so that they can fall in love with the one who loves them more than I ever could? So far we have made it to 8:19 AM, and the kids are on the bus.
There is so much to EVERYTHING!
God isn’t just interested in the time you have set aside to be devoted to Him by reading your Bible or praying. He is interested in ALL of you. He made all of you to be something that reflects who He is to a watching world.
How do you reflect the God who loves extravagantly, the One who creates order from chaos, the One who molds beauty from ashes, and the Lord who saved you from the power, presence, and penalty of your sin in ALL that you do? Seriously, I wanna know! Leave a comment and we can talk about some of the ways we have found to pull this off!