God Never Forgets

The disciples weren’t always The Twelve. At one time some were fishermen. One was a tax collector. Others also were of little note. They were ordinary people whom some supposed to be ignorant and unlearned.

They were not well educated, although they were intelligent. They were not special, although they were unique. They were not particularly talented or skilled, except perhaps in their fields of work, although they were gifted.

They were chosen. Hand picked by God. Selected from among thousands, they were the first commissioned to work with Jesus. But they were not the last.

During Jesus’ three years of ministry the disciples were not alone. Others were also chosen to serve. The 70 were commissioned to spread the good news to all who were willing to listen. After Jesus’ resurrection 120 waited for the Promise in the upper room. And they were not disappointed.

Sometimes, however, we are. We labor, often in obscurity. Little if any attention is paid to our service. We work, but seldom if ever hear any applause. Rarely do any Thank You notes arrive in our email. Yet, our labor of love is not forgotten.

God remembers everything you do on his behalf. Whether that’s giving your last two dollars while others drop hundreds of dollars in an offering plate or offering a preacher a bottle of cold water. Whether that’s giving someone a ride to church or helping a friend get to a doctor’s office. We believe that God knows everything we’ve ever done. But we tend to forget that he remembers every act of kindness that we perform.

For much of my life I’ve wanted to do something great for God. I didn’t realize I have.

Perhaps, like me, you’ve thought of yourself as insignificant. Maybe you’ve labeled yourself as unimportant. Perhaps you’ve felt your life has been unremarkable. To some people that may be true. But not to God.

One man loaned Jesus his donkey. Another gave him the use of a room for his last Passover. Another offered the use of his tomb. I doubt any of them at the moment thought their actions would be remembered. But God never forgets.

Dirty Hands, Pure Hearts

We are called to be holy. We should be obedient. We should not be like the world. But, we are not to remove ourselves from the world. We are to be in it.

The latter is not my problem. The boy is in the world. I just don’t always manage to get the world out of the boy.

The trick then is to be in the world, but not of it. To be so engulfed, so immersed, that some people won’t be able to tell the difference between us and those that God would have us reach and rescue.

My concern and caution then is that we shouldn’t confuse or misunderstand the verse that says we should come out from among them. What is unclean shouldn’t be fondled. But what is unclean?

The most unclean thing that a Jew can come into contact with is a dead body, a carcass or corpse. That doesn’t refer to those who are dead in their sins. But the thought does make me wonder about those whose faith is sometimes dead. Because sometimes that describes me.

Such faith is devoid of works. It doesn’t resemble the vibrant life that it once produced.

Our faith can become like that—lifeless, impotent—especially when it isn’t exercised. That’s when faith atrophies and can die. Then it’s incapable of regenerating life.

Today, perhaps more than ever, we need to be full of life. Now is not the time for spiritual tourniquets. Amputating ourselves from the world, even under the guise of spending more time with God, will not make us more like Jesus.

Sanctification is vital. But that’s a work of God, not the work of man. Our task is to stay connected to him, the source of all life. But God works on the inside. And because his work is internal, not external, it’s eternal.

Jesus showed us that time and again and pleaded for us to be like him. Jesus said: follow me, do what I do, go where I go, learn the unforced rhythms of grace. If we do, we’ll be known as he was--a friend of sinners. When we do, we’ll become saints with dirty hands, but pure hearts.