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Friday, April 22, 2016

 

When God made you, He made you on purpose and with a divine purpose in mind. For this reason, everything about you is important to God, not only your spiritual goals but your secular ones as well. Most of us understand the importance of our spiritual growth, but few of us understand how important our secular goals are to God. Yet, our secular goals, have far more divine potential than we can imagine but not for the reasons we think.

 

When Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem decided to rebuild, the endeavor as far as they were concerned, was primarily a secular one. They focused on the peace and prosperity a fortified city would afford them. However, God was up to something far more significant; God was seeking to receive glory and to bring His salvation to the surrounding nations.

 

“You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory”. – Isaiah 49:3 NLT

 …I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth”.       – Isaiah 49:6b3

 

God chose the nation of Israel, not because they were better than the rest of the inhabitants of the world. He chose them as a point of light to reflect His glory and extend salvation to the rest of the world. Consequently, while Nehemiah and the workers focused on rebuilding the walls, God focused on gaining glory and extending salvation; and this is precisely what God achieved. Even Jerusalem’s enemies had to recognize that the accomplishment of Nehemiah and the people was made possible because of God’s divine intervention.

 

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. – Nehemiah 6:15,16 NIV

 

Following the completion of the wall and as promised to the King, Nehemiah returned to Persia. Several years later, Nehemiah decided to visit Jerusalem once again. When he arrived, he found the people exhibiting the same bad behavior that had originally caused their downfall. Their secular behavior was at par with the secular behavior of the surrounding nations. In other words, they were no longer fulfilling their purpose of being a light to the world. Following this, for four hundred years, God remained silent. During this period, there exist no recorded words from God, that is, until Jesus the Messiah arrived in Jerusalem saying:

 

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.  – Matthew 5:14-15 NLT

 

The responsibility of being a light to the world is no longer something that is exclusive to the people of Israel. Today, God looks at us, and wants us to live our lives in a manner that causes others to see our deeds and to give praise to our Heavenly Father. For this reason, our secular goals are important to God.

 

Father, let my good deeds shine for all to see, so that everyone will praise you my Heavenly Father.