Daily Archives: February 16, 2011

“SERVING WITH NO APPLAUSE”

While we dream of doing “Big Things” for God, the reality is this that most of us are called to serve God in the mundane, everyday, “living out” of our faith in relative obscurity.  In our OBSCURITY we raise families, pay bills, help friends, walk with God, feed the hungry, visit the sick, meet needs, take care of the widows and simply do LIFE!

In the Summer of 1989 I sat on the back porch of our tiny rented home in our little West Texas town, dejected, frustrate and feeling terribly alone. I vividly remember praying this exact prayer… “Lord, I will do anything for You. I’ll plant a church, go on the mission field, move across country, sacrifice financially, anything you ask me to do, I will do!  Just tell me what you want me to do!”   (In my heart what I really meant was “I want to do something bigger than this, I’m tired of laboring in obscurity, while guys I know are moving on to bigger and better places, God, I am bigger than this!!!!)

In what was an incredible time of clarity in my life, God seemed to immediately respond to my prayers with this question: Will you follow and serve me when there is no applause?” It continues to be a defining question for most people who follow Jesus. I was looking to be a ‘rock star” and Jesus was looking for servants. My faith was about me and the faith He offers is about Him. I was open to do the grand things for God but “winced” at the thought of serving him in obscurity.

Richard Foster said it well when he wrote, “In some ways we would rather hear Jesus command to deny our father and mother, houses and land for the sake of the Gospel, than to hear his command to “wash feet”.

Mark 10:43-45  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

• Last Sunday night was special for our church and for Brady Sharp. He was “ordained” by the church in a very special ceremony. He was “set apart for the work of the church and the Gospel ministry”…pretty cool. Brady is “called to Ministry”.  It is a good thing.
• Some people are called serve God in some exotic mission location to tell the story of Jesus… It is a good thing.
• Some people are called to serve God by planting a church where there are none…  It is a good thing.
• Some people are called to serve God and make extraordinary public sacrifices for the cause of Christ… It is a good thing.
• Most people are called to raise a family, go to work….love the Lord…… IN OBSCURITY… and it is a good thing.

(Matthew 20:26-27, John 13:12-15, Romans 15:1-3, 1 Corinthians 10:24)