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Work We All Can Do
The Bible is about people. As God unfolds His great plan of redemption, He weaves in the stories of different men and women used to accomplish His purposes. And while they are just people, we become so involved in the lives of Joseph, David, Hannah, and Peter that we feel like we know them. We see ourselves in them. We name our children after them. They are our heroes.
But the same Bible reveals another cast of characters. Their names do not appear in a great chapter on faith. Their stories are not as familiar, even among the children of God. They are the ones who quietly enter the stage, play their part, and then just as quietly exit back into obscurity. But they are people known to God and used by God, just as He used Abraham, Moses, and Mary. In His kingdom, everyone is essential.
In the service of the King, there is work that we all can do. Some seem to suffer from the misconception that since they can’t do very much they might as well not do anything at all. They think to themselves, "I’ll never teach like he can" or "I’m not as talented as she is." Yet God has never said He would hold us accountable for someone else’s abilities and gifts. He expects us to do what we can do, not what he or she can do.
The work is for all of us, every laborer in the vineyard. God still uses people to bring about His plans and purposes. He has a place for you. I offer three simple questions to help determine if you are doing all that you can do.
How much do you give? That is, how much do you give of yourself? Many people only see the church as an organization that owes them something. That’s why so many church signs and advertisements are filled with invitations to join their youth group or singles ministry or some other social club. People want to know what they can receive without ever thinking about what they can contribute.
But how much do you give? Everyone has something to put in. There’s no gift too small, no act of service that goes unnoticed. What did Jesus recognize about the woman who broke the costly bottle of perfume and anointed His head? "She has done what she could" (Mark 14:8). And because of that, "wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be spoken of in memory of her." When you give your all, you’ll be amazed at what you get out of it.
Do you have room for the kingdom? We sing all the time that there is room in the kingdom for you, but do you have room for the kingdom in your life? We bend over backwards to make accommodations for everything else in our busy schedules, and the Lord usually ends up with the leftovers or is left out altogether. That’s not right.
Most Christians would tell you that their relationship to God is the most important thing in their life. But what would their calendar tell you? What would their checkbook tell you? What would their lives tell you? There is work that we all can do. Let’s make certain to make room for it.
Is your family first? God is our Father. We are His children. That makes us brethren. That makes us family. But we are not family in name alone. There is a body of work that accompanies this body of believers, a responsibility to be born by all. And we need every part doing its part.
On the Day of Judgment, the Shepherd will separate the family from the strangers. Those on His right hand will be invited to "inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world" (Matt. 25:34). What great work did they accomplish? They fed the hungry, they clothed the naked, they visited the sick. By serving their brethren, they served their Brother Himself. Those on the left will be cast "into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). They saw the same hungry people, but they were too busy to feed them. They felt compassion on the sick, but they figured someone else would visit them. They never understood that the smallest deeds of kindness were of first importance to the Father.
Let’s not wait too late to labor. There is work that we all can do right now. And when we spend ourselves in His service, we can rest assured that our names will be written in the Lamb’s book of life.
