The Blessing of OrdinaryEsimerkki

The Real David’s Cheese and Bread brings him to the army of Israel as Goliath is issuing his defiant challenge. Often lost in the traditional underdog versus giant tale is this isn’t the first time Goliath has shouted at the Israelites. The armies had been camped out facing each other for forty days (sound familiar?) And the champion of Philistia stood every morning and every night demanding a worthy opponent. That’s eighty times. But 1 Samuel records another revealing fact: Each time the armies faced each other they shouted their war cries. God’s army, sworn to fight for Yahweh’s Name and Glory, wearing official battle gear, and shouting the battle-cry of the Lord, quailed in fear when one enemy stood there. All gear, no guts. One of the reasons why I believe living out our faith in the “ordinary” is actually a more radical expression of life in Christ is because it requires us not to look the part of a Christian, but to live with a heart for God in each moment. Daily routines are packed with decisions that require us to choose fear or trust, hope or cynicism, love or selfishness, humility or pride. The blessing of “ordinary life” is that God grants us a constant succession of opportunities to know His grace and His presence rather than waiting for one perfect moment to dramatically demonstrate our love for Him. God’s army looked like God’s people, and yet there was no action that accompanied their behavior. David already walked in obedience and was able to be obedient in facing Goliath. Many of us picture ourselves in the future as a super saint full of radical faith, but obedience must happen in the real world right now. It doesn’t happen when we’re in a big group making noise together for God’s name and it doesn’t count in your head. Obedience requires that you step out into “the real,” in the present context in which you find yourself, and choose: Trust God or melt into the crowd who talks about trusting God. Tomorrow we’ll answer the question: What made the shepherd boy David different than the geared-up and shouting soldiers of the Lord?