John 4:38 - The unsung heroes of the faith.
I was thinking the other day about how we give greater honor to those whose stories have been recorded. It is almost as if one's work doesn't matter unless it is published. But, this isn't how it works in God's kingdom. This morning I read Jesus' words as recorded in John 4:38, "I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." Who are these other people?
In the church, we frequently rely upon the stories of the New Testament, for obvious reasons. But, we also tend to tell the New Testament stories that are louder and take more space. The disciples get a lot of attention. Here, in John, Jesus acknowledges that the disciples have the easy job--they get to reap what others have sown. But look at what, or should I say, "who," Jesus is pointing to here. Jesus is recognizing that many of his followers have worked quite hard to get people to the feet of Jesus.
Remember how long it took for you to get your neighbor to come to church. Finally she came and heard the traveling music group share their gifts and personal testimonies. Your neighbor heard and accepted Christ. You rejoiced! The music group left celebrating the number of people who changed their commitment to Christ. What was it like when Jesus was strolling around in Jerusalem, Galilee, and the Judean countryside? Did a similar thing occur? Did it take a lot of work for a child to convince his father to go and hear the strange preacher down at the Jordan who would point the father towards the Messiah?
Those labors that are done in secret, that are not recorded in any blog, email, journal, or book for the world to see, are still seen by God. In fact, I suspect that in some way, God recognizes those labors as being greater than the labors of those done in public.
Remember, behind every recorded hero of faith is a "cloud of witnesses" of unwritten heroes. If you are one of those heroes... THANK YOU!
In the church, we frequently rely upon the stories of the New Testament, for obvious reasons. But, we also tend to tell the New Testament stories that are louder and take more space. The disciples get a lot of attention. Here, in John, Jesus acknowledges that the disciples have the easy job--they get to reap what others have sown. But look at what, or should I say, "who," Jesus is pointing to here. Jesus is recognizing that many of his followers have worked quite hard to get people to the feet of Jesus.
Remember how long it took for you to get your neighbor to come to church. Finally she came and heard the traveling music group share their gifts and personal testimonies. Your neighbor heard and accepted Christ. You rejoiced! The music group left celebrating the number of people who changed their commitment to Christ. What was it like when Jesus was strolling around in Jerusalem, Galilee, and the Judean countryside? Did a similar thing occur? Did it take a lot of work for a child to convince his father to go and hear the strange preacher down at the Jordan who would point the father towards the Messiah?
Those labors that are done in secret, that are not recorded in any blog, email, journal, or book for the world to see, are still seen by God. In fact, I suspect that in some way, God recognizes those labors as being greater than the labors of those done in public.
Remember, behind every recorded hero of faith is a "cloud of witnesses" of unwritten heroes. If you are one of those heroes... THANK YOU!
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