Over the
past week, my Calvary small group finished our summer study called Finding God in the Desert of Your Soul. In this week’s study, one of the main verses
we focused on was Romans 12:9-13.
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is
good. Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your
spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need.
Practice hospitality.
I’ve read
this passage many times, but never really stopped and went through it line by
line before. As a pastor, I could write
a sermon for every verse and every sentence!
These verses are all calling out to be preached! I’ve really been noodling verse 12 over the
past week – “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in
prayer.” Now, at first glance, those seem
like good things to do, but what if we all truly believed and lived just those
three things out in our everyday lives.
Would our lives change? Would our
faith-lives change or deepen? Would our
willingness to serve others change? Then
I started to think more deeply about the last verse: “Share with God’s people who are in need and
practice hospitality.”
You know, “...our
Christian walk is not just made up of those mountaintop experiences or great
feats of spiritual strength,” as Buddy Owens, the teaching pastor at Saddleback Church, said in this DVD study, but
rather, “It is made up of faithfulness to simple, small acts of generosity,
kindness, devotion to each other, and caring for each other.” It’s the little things that we must be
faithful to, not just the big things in life.
They will indeed make a difference.
In fact, sometimes the little acts of service can have far-reaching and
even eternal consequences that we may never know.
Perhaps
that smile you gave to the checkout person at the grocery store lifted their
spirits and encouraged them to make it through one more day; perhaps calling or
stopping by to visit an elderly person in your neighborhood made them realize
that they are not alone; perhaps giving the littlest word of encouragement to
someone who is going through a dark valley made them feel a sense of hope in
their darkness. Speaking words of hope
into someone’s life can and will have eternal results. In God’s Kingdom there are no small or
insignificant acts. Remember, the
measurement is not ours to determine; rather that measurement is in God’s
hands! Look at Mathew 25:21 where Jesus
says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of
many things.”
We often
think that we need to go out in this world and do huge things to leave an
imprint on society. Instead, how about
trying to help one person this week and leave a holy handprint on their life? Oh, I know we sometimes compare ourselves to
others and think what we have to offer is so small. Remember this: God’s greatest gifts are not reserved
for those that have merely received advanced college degrees or people who have
advanced theological training or are famous in our society; God’s gifts are
given to us all. In fact, those gifts do
not require anything more than a humble, willing, and contrite heart. In fact, the only way to attain those gifts
that really matter are found when we are on our knees.
Reread
Romans 12:9-13. These are indeed the
keys to being a servant of Christ. Those
simple verses hold the keys to spiritual greatness and significance. This week, set out to be faithful in the
simple and small things and see how God uses those small steps of faithfulness
to accomplish great things for His Kingdom.
And I heard the
voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for
us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." (Isaiah 6:8)
Here’s a
song that calls us to stand up and be faithful by merely offering ourselves to
be used by God. May we always be
faithful, especially in the small things!
In His
Grip!
Pastor
Carol
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