Working While I Wait For His Glory

Top-up shopping often leaves me with food for thought. On the way to our nearest supermarket, I walk past a doctor’s surgery where the lives of first trimester babies, created in the image of God, are deliberately snuffed out in the name of a woman’s right to choose. I often pass mothers swearing or even screaming at their children and I also see the occasional homeless person. Apart from a quick prayer or perhaps some momentary practical relief, I am always struck by how much work there is to be done and how little I feel I can help.

 

At this particularly busy time in my life, there is very little in the way of regular activity that I can realistically add to my plate. I imagine that most home-educating mothers feel the same way. We are already serving our families, our churches and our friends and we know that we cannot make an impact on every single need that we see.

 

Rather than allowing hopelessness to set in, over the years I have learnt to let need focus me. Perhaps I cannot stop a mother from swearing at a child, but I can reflect on the way that I interact with my own children and do something about those conversations that are not seasoned with love and grace. Perhaps there is little I can do about the local abortion clinic, but I can ensure that I teach my children the law and the value of a human life. Perhaps I cannot do much about every exploded bin-bag that makes a mess of the pavement, but I can consider whether my own home pertains to order or to chaos. There are three questions I reflect on when I am moved by the great need of our world.

 

If my maths is right, nine people in the house means that there are 36 relationships playing out under my nose. Peace and harmony do not always reign! I cannot force children to always play peacefully. However, even within our four walls there are eight relationships that directly involve me. It is all very well feeling grieved at conflict in our neighbourhood, but am I responsible for any of the conflict in our home? If we are commanded to “seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14) then this means in our most intimate family relationships first. We might switch on the news and be saddened by news of war, but war begins in the human heart. How is my heart? The Psalmist David writes, “His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.”

 

There is something about order and beauty that is easy on the eye and pleasant to the soul. I appreciate walking past pots of flowers and hanging baskets. It is less easy to appreciate walking past litter on the pavement. But a neighbourhood is made up of many homes. This always forces me to ask myself whether my own home is in order? Is there an area which requires some diligence? Do my children generally have clean clothes at the start of the day? Is anything dead or dying at the back of my fridge or under somebody’s bed!? Are there any points in the day when the house looks fairly clear and tidy or is this an impossibility because we have an abundance of items that have no home? Does the hoover see the floor from time to time? Are meals cleared up or left to fester until the next meal and needs must?

 

I don’t think the Christian home educator is going to have a magazine-style home. After all, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean…”. (Proverbs 14:4) However, God has given us our homes to steward for his glory. Children play better and work better with some sort of order. If we start a lesson only to find all the stationary is missing then we are not going to be as productive as we might have been. If our bathrooms or our kitchens are unsanitary, then illness is more likely to spread. I am never finished with learning how to manage my home and I see this as part of the work that God has called me to do, rather than a hindrance that distracts me from my “real work”.

 

The lawlessness of our nation is the outworking of lawlessness in our homes. If every child were taught the law of God from an early age, then we would not see sinful lifestyles glorified the way they are today. The one command that God gives directly to children is that they should obey their parents. Yet, ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents to teach this. I might see a child answering back to his parent, but am I diligent to teach my own children to respect me? This is not for the sake of my own ego, but for the sake of the glory of Christ because this is what he commands. Do my children know what God’s law says about blasphemy or the Sabbath? Do they know why shoplifting is wrong or that covetousness begins in the heart? Are we being faithful to teach them the whole counsel of God, or do we take the back seat and blame our church for not “doing something for the teenagers”?

 

In Eden, God ordained work. God has given me work to do during these few days while I am “a stranger on earth” (Psalm 119:19) and I am called to be faithful in the small sphere of influence that he has given me. I know that the fields are white for harvest and I pray that God will send more workers into the harvest field. But meanwhile, I know that the Lord has set me my own particular field, and this is where you will find me, working while I wait to see his glory.