You scurry undetected. Your words are not many. You would rather do, than talk. People know your face. You wonder if they know your name. You fit in. You don’t stand out.
Are you shy? Probably. Do you fear man? Maybe. Hesitant to speak because you don’t know what to say? Perhaps.
Is this a blog for you to change or be someone you are not? Absolutely not. There is no challenge intended at all. In fact, it is the opposite. It is to encourage. So, please, keep reading.
Andrew Bonar, brother to the great hymnwriter Horatius Bonar, pastored in 19th century Scotland. Andrew was a gifted preacher and writer. He was the one who compiled and published the “Letters of Samuel Rutherford.” He was Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s biographer, writing the memoir of his friend upon his early death.
Some live amongst us as ones who live in the presence of God. Andrew Bonar was one such man. When he died, his daughter Marjory Bonar went through her father’s sermons, writings, and diary and published the collection under the title, “Heavenly Springs.” It is a wonderful devotional.
So, is this a blog about Andrew Bonar? Nope. Not at all. But I wanted you to know a little bit about the man I’m going to quote. My target remains the quiet saints in our midst. And to offer you encouragement. In “Heavenly Springs,” Bonar writes:
“It is natural for us to think if we could do some great exploit, or carry through some great piece of self-denial, we should be high in the kingdom. But it is not so. It is doing something that nobody sees but the Master Himself, and no one knows but He.”
Does that describe you? Your ministry? Doing the “stuff” that nobody sees? If so, well done friend.
Bonar then adds:
“Service for the Master that everybody praises is very dangerous service. Perhaps in the day the Master returns the name of one we never heard of in the Church of Christ may be the highest, because he did most, simply for the Master.”
And, well done again my friend, if that is you.
The Holy Spirit inspired Apostle Paul reminds us of an important truth:
“God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. 19 If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? 20 As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body. 21 The eye can’t say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ The head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ 22 In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without”
1 Corinthians 12:18-22
Note what the last verse says, “The parts of the body that seem to be weaker…” It does not say, “The parts of the body that are weaker.” We tend to elevate the “louder gifts” amongst us. Those possessing the “quieter gifts” not so much.
But the Master sees. And he says the same to the noticed and to the unnoticed, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23).
Everyone may not know your name. But He does.
Pastor Rich Hamlin
May 2, 2024