A New Perspective for a New Year

     As another year comes to a close, I thought I would offer some reflections on the often mundane dealings of life. I propose that life and its tasks are not inherently mundane; rather, our perspective is wrong. 

       There are countless daily household tasks that we perform with more complaint than thought. We do these over and over and over. Where is the meaning? When I vacuum, does it have a purpose beyond leaving a clean floor in its wake? When the dishwasher is emptied for the millionth time, can there be anything deeper than bowls stacked on a shelf? I believe that there is. By these small actions, we combat the chaos. We beat back the darkness with every sweep of our brooms. Housework becomes a battlefield, but not in the dark and gory usual way. It becomes our place to declare that chaos and grime will not get the best of us. We clean our small homes while we wait for the ultimate Cleanser, the one who will purify the world.

    The same applies to schoolwork. When we open our textbooks, we are inviting in knowledge, which fights a different kind of darkness: that of the mind. We learn more about this Creator and his world. In science, we see his handiwork. In math, we notice the intricate patterns he has placed in our world. This schoolwork becomes a place to say that we know who our King is, and what he has created. We learn how to protect the world he has given us. 

    Art is another outlet of defiance. The poems we write, the things we paint, the pages we fill with drawings, the songs we sing, the objects we craft, all these have purpose. Through these, we mimic the original Artist. By creating something out of blank paper, we declare that destruction will not rule in our lives. We battle the brokenness around us by writing about what shall be. When we sing, proclaiming what is true, we sweep away the whispers of the dark. Dancing shouts that we are delighted in the goodness in this world, while we wait for one that will be still better. We imitate our Creator, while waiting for him to create us anew again.

    I encourage us to view our lives this way in the coming year, not as endless cycles of repeating mundanity, but as many small tasks strung together, piercing into the darkness. This life is but a vapor, so let's use it to herald the kingdom that will come, while warring against the darkness and brokenness that oppress us. 

 Fight on, soldier, with your housework, knowledge, and art. This is our rebellion. And it shall not fail. Behold, a new kingdom is coming.