DD: One Body, Many Members
(Once again, it’s my turn to write the “Thought of the Day” on the Christian Believers mailing list at work.)
When we think about the saints in heaven, we tend to think on people who made the church or the world better — in our eyes. We think of people like C.S. Lewis, Jim Elliott, Thomas à Kempis, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King, Jr. We dwell on their deeds and their writings and aspire to be like them. And there is nothing wrong with that but God calls us to find our own gifts and to use them — thankfully, he knows that the church needs all kinds of people with all kinds of abilities.
But when I think of “unsung heroes” of the Church, I remember two ladies in the congregation when I grew up — Mary and Elizabeth. They were two “old” sisters (at least, they were always old to me) that never married and had lived together since I could remember. When someone was sick, you always got a meal from them. And their prayers. When you or a family member was in the hospital, you always got a visit and/or a card. And their prayers. When our church went Christmas carolling over the years, we always stopped at their house. After we sang our songs, they welcomed us in and always had a plate of cookies, punch, cider and other goodies waiting for us. They also made blankets for the babies born in the church as well as many more for needy people outside of our congregation.
Add this to the fact that both Mary and Elizabeth read the entire Bible every year. Yes — the entire Bible every year. Though neither one of those ladies had finished the eighth grade, they knew more about the Bible, it’s characters, and the history, stories, and teachings inside of it than most seminarians I have ever met. Mary was the more outgoing one — she worked outside the home for some years and did lots of service at the church. The one that she will always be remembered for was teaching the 7th grade VBS class. She did this for 30 years. 30 years! For many years it was on the book of Acts and, believe me, you learned a lot about Acts after that week!
Mary and Elizabeth have both been gone for some years now but their work in that church and in their community will always be felt — long after when they will be forgotten They didn’t do these things because they wanted recognition — they lived their faith because that was how meaningful it was to them. They used what they had to live their life for Christ.
And God has recognized their works. In my opinion, they are up their with the men of faith I mentioned above, not because they changed the world, but because they were faithful with what God gave them.