Quiet, Ordinary Faithfulness

Read Matthew 6:1-4

Thought for the Day: Quiet faithfulness is my goal!

I have a phrase I often use: “great and glorious”. It means that too often Christians draw attention to even the tiniest things they do. We are not instructed to follow Jesus by drawing attention to ourselves. Jesus Himself rebuked the Pharisees as hypocrites because they loudly drew attention to themselves. Rather than serving God both faithfully and quietly, they would literally make proclamations (and even blow trumpets) whenever they did anything to help others. By prioritizing the public approval of others, “they have received their reward” already.

Fortunately, not all Christians live great and gloriously. While we see far too many examples of those using faith to primarily make themselves look good, this is not the norm. Many do amazing things to share the Gospel and serve others in almost complete obscurity. Countless believers have lived with quiet, ordinary faithfulness. It is important, therefore, to recognize which Christians quietly carried out the Gospel before us NOT because they need credit, but because they set an example for us.

My grandmother (on my Mom’s side) Inez Springer taught Sunday School in small country churches for over 50 years. In her early twenties, she and a friend worked together to plant five churches. Yet, if you asked her who she was, she would say Christian, shoe repairman’s wife, and mother. On my Dad’s side, David Stanley Mallory was a Canadian lumberjack who heard the Gospel, gave his life to Jesus, and visited those in the hospital every Sunday afternoon. He prioritized serving his family and community before ultimately dying because he cared for a neighbor with tuberculosis.

Each of us lives in the shadow of Christians who practiced ordinary faithfulness. Let’s take a moment today to appreciate those Christians who have gone before us. We don’t need to be great and glorious. Instead, we can see that we will be right-sized with God when we live with humility!

In Christ,

Pastor David (and Stan)