Do the Thing in Front of You

 

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10

  Crafting is in my blood. I can say this because most of the hobbies I have embarked on have either been inspired by or accompanied by my mother, if not both. As long as I can remember, I’ve watched my mother with one hobby or another. She’s done everything there is to do with fiber pretty much, from taking a raw fleece through washing and picking and carding and dyeing to knitting or crocheting with it, or even doing felting and weaving. She’s done leatherwork and stained glass. She’s done the most intricate, incredible paper crafting. People often ask me if I take after her and I just shake my head. I could never live up to her levels of skill. But, from her, I’ve received my joy and interest in crafting.

 I think that God and I approach our crafting differently, though. When I have a beautiful piece of fiber in my hands, all I want to do is spin it. Everyone always asks me what I’m going to make with it, and I have no idea. Right then I just want to feel the texture flow through my fingers as my feet pedal in rhythm to the bobbin’s spin. A sweet lady in my spinning guild used to say, “Yarn is a finished product!” She joyfully displayed hers on her wall. God, on the other hand, knows exactly what something, or someone, will be used for when he crafts them. He has a purpose and intentionality to His work. I’ve got to believe He feels the joy of creation as well though. Otherwise, why would He bother to create us by hand and instead just will us into existence!

 So why was I made? That’s one of those deep existential questions that philosophers like to toss around to sound smart. What is my purpose? Why am I here? Well, our verse today tells us that we were created to do good works. I have crafted slippers to keep my husband’s feet warm on his hiking trips. That’s a good work. I have crafted soap to keep my family clean. That’s a very good work! The things I create also have a purpose, so I can see the value in that. Even the art I have created has a purpose of bringing joy to those that see it on the walls or in a scrapbook. But what kind of work am I supposed to be doing? Am I doing the right things? Am I missing something? Am I trying hard enough?

 Today’s verse goes on to tell us that God prepared in advance the good works that we are supposed to do. He has everything set up. We don’t have to worry about figuring it out, or missing it entirely. It reminds me of the last verse we looked at where John said we were appointed and I discovered that it meant passively placed. We are put right where we should be to do just what we should do. My Aunt taught me as a young adult that a kitchen should be arranged with everything right in front of you. That doesn’t mean you pile everything onto the counter, but if you have a certain area for mixing ingredients, those ingredients should be within arm’s reach of it. If you usually season things that are on the stove, the seasoning should be located near the stove, and so on. I think God works in much the same way. He puts us somewhere, and what we are to do is right in front of us. We don’t have to go searching for it. You live somewhere, and oftentimes with someone. Love those around you. Be good to them and show them God’s love. If you go to a church, serve there. Even people like me who can’t do much, can sit in a chair outside the church doors and greet people as they arrive. If you have more physical capabilities, perhaps you can setup chairs, or make coffee, or work in the kids’ department – they always need more help!

Here's the Thing: Our callings are simple. Love God. Love others. We try to make it so complicated. We create surveys to see what your spiritual giftings are and then correlate those with personality tests to see how you should be serving in the body. I’ve done them all and found absolutely no fruitfulness through them. For me, I just need to keep the main thing the main thing. I need to do the thing in front of me.