Living The Gospel In The Grind Of Life

When I think of some of the people Jesus encountered and chose to engage with, three jump out. The Samaritan woman (John 4), the paralytic (John 5), and the blind man (John 9). Three very different people, with different stories, yet a common theme tied to the Gospel and to us.

The Samaritan woman spent day after day traveling to a well alone, in the heat, getting water. The grind of living from failed marriage to failed marriage, and the rejection and ridicule from those around her was relentless. The paralytic of 37 years was most likely perceived as a wasted life, carried to the same spot surrounded by a suffering throng, in desperate hope. The man born blind was led to the same spot, day after day to eke out a living begging.

Their struggles were magnified by the wounds they carried and the futility of just making it through yet another day. Until Jesus.

[quote]As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” – John 9:1-3[/quote]

This is an amazing response that has ramifications for our lives, our struggles, and the insecurities and wounds that haunt us and wear us down over time.

So many times I have longed to see God do amazing things in my life, be on mission, have a great impact for the Gospel and truly make a difference. Then the grind hits me; I get up, go to work, run the necessary errands, try to love and serve my family. I get to the end of a week, tired and carrying the hurts, wounds and insecurities this broken world brings. In the middle of this struggle, Jesus longs to meet me, love me, and remind me of the truth of the finished work of the cross in my life.

[quote]The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. – John 10:10[/quote]

The devil goes all in to steal our joy. He deceives lies and distorts. He knows the power of futility and its ability to suck the life out of us. Jesus comes along and changes everything—the same way he did for the Samaritan women, the paralytic, and the blind man. After all three encountered Jesus, much of their life remained the same, including the grind and the challenges of their past. But when we embrace the Gospel and the reality of the freedom we now have in Christ, we live differently in the grind, in the ordinary. What Paul referred to as “jars of clay” in 2 Corinthians.

[quote]But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair…So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. – 2 Corinthians 4:7-8, 16-18[/quote]

Once we remember that God is renewing us day by day, and that faith in Jesus gives us life, energy, and strength, we are able to move forward knowing that as we lean on Him, He will be glorified.