Right Here and Now

The story is told that in the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of the pressures of being king. He applied to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and to spend the rest of his life in the monastery.

Prior Richard responded, “Your Majesty, do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.”

“I understand,” said Henry. “For the rest of my life, I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.”

“Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.”

There is a lot of wisdom in Prior Richard’s response.

Scholar and pastor Eugene Peterson once wrote, “God meets us in the ordinary and extraordinary occurrences that make up the stuff of our daily lives… God’s great love and purposes for us are worked out in the messes, storms, and sins, blue skies, daily work, and dreams of our common lives, working with us as we are and not as we should be.”

I wonder where God has put you. How might you serve God faithfully right where you are today?

Let us pray: God of all life, we want to make the most of this life that you have given us. We want to be your light, salt, and hope. We recognize that the world needs good and faithful teachers, beauticians, lawyers, realtors, business owners, plumbers, jewelers, and many others. Show us how to serve you faithfully, right where we are, even now. In Jesus’ name. Amen.