THE ORDINARY VIBRANT LIFE
While we talk disproportionately more of the extraordinary things we experience, it is important to note that most of our lives would be ordinary. An ordinary life is what Jesus demonstrated for 30 years of his life as he grew up and lived at his home and worked as a carpenter. It is was so ordinary that the meticulous historian Luke, chose to include only 1 incident from Jesus’ life as a boy when he stayed back at the temple and debated with the teachers of the law.
When we think of Abraham, we think of a man who was the father of faith, architect of the Jewish nation and a man who was extraordinarily favored by God. While that was true, there are only a few major incidents noted from life, all of which were remarkable. Yet as he lived to a nice old age, most of his days would have been ordinary. There would have been days when he went to work, came back home to eat his meals, took some rest and went to sleep. There would have been days when he got sick, got shouted at by Sarah and took time to enjoy some the pleasures this transient life offers. None of that would make it to the pages of the Bible and rightly so.
An ordinary life of routines, struggles, patient endurance, work and service is however not to be shunned, rather embraced as necessary. An ordinary life does not however mean that life is devoid of vibrancy. Every day as we learn to connect with God and go through the various challenges that life throws at us, we are able to experience the abundance and fullness that comes only with a rich connection with God. And that is the essence of man’s purpose here on earth, not necessarily striving to make an extraordinary impact every day of our lives, rather enjoy the proximity of God.
As David notes in Psalms 23,
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths, for his name’s sake. (v1-3)
In the small ordinary things of life, we find the nourishment that God provides and his guidance to choose that which is true. And as we learn to live life in that manner, whether our days are ordinary or extraordinary, we can say along with David,
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (v6)
