living on a shelf

Sometimes life is like sitting on a shelf.  We're sitting up there…waiting for something, but we're not sure what.  Maybe God is going to take us down and use us.  Or maybe we are going to be sitting up there a long time…getting old and dusty.  Maybe we're waiting for an opportunity to shine.  Or maybe we will never shine.  Maybe our only purpose is to help someone else shine.  Maybe we will always have an ‘audience of ONE’. 

Things can go wrong on the shelf.  It’s not always fun.  It can be very lonely there.  People can walk by and look at us.  Some of them pay attention to us.  Some ignore us. 

Living on a shelf…even though it might look like we’re sitting still, we’re not.  We’re preparing, working, thinking, planning, praying, and trusting. We know we can’t get down off the shelf on our power.  Someone has to touch our lives.   We need to be careful who we allow to touch our lives.  Someone might come along and try to rearrange us, move us, or “dust” us.  We could end up in the wrong place or worse yet, being knocked off the shelf and shattered to pieces. 

Living on a shelf...it forces us to prioritize because we don’t know what is going to happen next.  It’s like an “in between” place.  It can be a very quiet place.  It’s a place where we can’t force anything to happen.  It’s a place of patience, a place of trust.  If we allow our hearts to stay calm there, we can be content.  We can seek the Lord in faith, knowing that He has our lives under control. 

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much;

and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

Luke 16:10