Verse: Ephesians 1:9-10
With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Devotion
I have never been good at coloring, or art, or anything creative that requires me using some sort of artistic tool. My stick figures aren’t even good. In fact, they are kind of terrible.

So when my kids were younger and we’d color together it was often me (not the 5 year old) who was coloring outside the lines. And not because I’m some creative genius who must express himself either. I simply am not good at it!

I want to use that as an analogy for our lives. We often like to create two boxes (at least) in our lives: one for God things, and one for everything else. Sacred and Secular, if you will. We draw lines and keep certain things inside the lines of God: church, youth group, prayer, etc. And then everything else lands outside the lines: sports, family, fun, pleasure, entertainment, money, etc.

One thing Paul is alluding to here is that in Jesus, God is bringing unity to all things in heaven and on earth. He is breaking down the sacred vs secular dichotomy. He is offering us a more wholistic and unified life where the sacred bleeds outside the lines, breaks outside the boxes, that we normally put God in, and touches all parts of our lives.

Instead of our experience with God being limited to church and church activities, he wants to us to see God in all things. And NO, I’m not saying God is literally embodied in everything, like pantheism teaches. I’m saying, we learn to see God’s work, see his hand, see his fingerprints, in all things. We can see God in our friendships, in our down time, in our work, in our study, in our fun, in creation, in sports. We can see God’s hand in a conversation, while washing the dishes, or driving in a car. God is available to us at all times. It just takes awareness on our part to see him! This is why, even in hard times, the Bible teaches we can find God.

So that’s the encouragement/challenge for today. As you go through this day, try to intentionally pay attention to what God is doing in your life. Try to intentionally connect with God, no matter what you are doing. And see how that changes your perspective!

Prayer
I pray that you would show me how you are working in my life, and help me to see your hand, more often!

Author: Christian Dunn