…. whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT

In the Scriptures, the great miracle of the incarnation slips into the ordinary life of a child. The great miracle of the transfiguration fades into the demon-possessed valley below. And the glory of the resurrection descends into a breakfast on the seashore. This is not an anticlimax, but a great revelation of God.

We have a tendency to look for wonder in our experience, and we mistake heroic actions for real heroes. It’s one thing to go through a crisis grandly, yet quite another to go through our every day walking around life glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, and no one paying even the slightest attention to us. If we are not looking for halos, we at least want something that will make people say, “What a wonderful man of prayer he is!” or, “What a great woman of devotion she is!” If you are properly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the lofty height where no one would ever notice you personally. All that is noticed is the power of God coming through you.

We want to be able to say, “Oh, I have had a wonderful call from God!” But to do even the most humbling tasks to the glory of God takes God working in us. To be utterly unnoticeable requires God’s Spirit in us making us absolutely humanly His. The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness, but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life. To live a life hidden with Christ in God in our everyday human conditions (Note 1). Our human relationships are the very conditions in which the ideal life of God should be exhibited.

Adapted, My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers (1874 – 1917)

Note 1: “Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4