Monuments

Junior Peregory bringing out food at soup kitchen, Our Community Place, Photo by Artaxerxes (CC A-SA, 3.0 Unported)

We may be embarrassed to admit it, but – deep down – alot of us want to do great things for the Lord. Grand things. Preferably with background music.

We critique everything from Noah’s carpentry to Joseph’s wardrobe, from Moses’ negotiation skills to David’s aim. Surely, we would have suspected Delilah’s motives. Unlike Jonah, we would have gone straight to Ninevah, bypassing the whale altogether.

Our desire to excel stems less from devotion, of course, than from a misplaced sense of pride in our own abilities. Yet God asks us for love and obedience in the small things.

Dealing charitably with cold sales calls, overseas tech support, missed deadlines, store clerks unable to make change, and drivers unable to see over their steering wheel may not seem “heroic” on your part.

But to the engineer now employed making those cold calls; the computer technician covering the midnight shift; the secretary distracted by worry over a sick child; the single mother at the register; and the war veteran who fought his way up Omaha Beach your civility is confirmation of their dignity.

Take the time to look. In each face you will see Christ.

“…And what does your Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6: 8).

Lord God, we are so easily discouraged when our grandiose plans go awry or worldly approval is not forthcoming. Yet You do not seek monuments from us. You simply ask that we love You with our whole heart and whole mind.

Help us remember that You value small, daily acts of kindness and service to others more than lavish public sacrifice. May we build our monuments of these…to Your everlasting glory.

Amen

READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse  http://www.avoicereclaimed.com