A few weeks ago, I watched a Christian program that shared the story of a man named John who, after a series of drug convictions, found himself behind bars in a maximum-security prison. All his arrests leading up to his incarceration were drug related. He confessed he’d never put his hands on another human, yet he found himself imprisoned with men convicted of murder and violent crimes against other people.
While in prison, he attended a church service and ended up surrendering his life to Christ. Resolved to serve his time in the violent and oft-times scary environment, he quickly discovered that God could use anyone no matter how dire their life situations might be.
Forced to spend 22 hours a day in his 9’ x 5’ cell with another inmate, John spent a great deal of his time reading and studying God’s Word. One day, his cell mate asked him what he was reading, and John shared the story of Joseph and his imprisonment under Potipher’s rule (Genesis 39). The cellmate was interested in the story and asked John to read to him because he didn’t know how to read. From that simple request, John’s ministry was borne, as he quickly discovered that many of his fellow inmates didn’t know how to read. John began publicly reading to prisoners from the Bible daily.
John saw a need and used the simple gift of reading in obedience to Jesus.
I frequently find myself asking God how I can serve him with what I think are “trivial, unimportant gifts.” In my mind, the things that I like to do seem of little consequence when it comes to serving God. I question how is baking cookies or writing thank-you notes or sending birthday cards able to make a difference?
Colossians 3:23 plainly tells us: “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” While baking, cooking, reading, writing notes or even offering a word of encouragement to a random stranger may not seem like a big deal to us – we never know how these “trivial gifts” may be just the thing that God wants to use to bless that random stranger or the next-door neighbor or a harried co-worker.
Our job isn’t to save the entire world. We are to obey the voice of our Lord when prompted and use whatever gifts – large or small – to love our neighbors.
It’s easy to share love and kindness during Christmas. However, we live in a world surrounded by people whose pain or loneliness supersedes holiday parameters. Obeying Jesus and loving others should be an ongoing practice for God’s children. After all – He gives us the gifts … our job is to re-gift those gifts for His glory.
Merry Christmas and blessings in Christ …
Kathy K.
