So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and. as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
Character Check If God rewards my small efforts, can I do the same with others?
In Business Terms I know that my suffering is “successful” when I am faithful to Christ in it. I’m choosing to be obedient, even if it’s a drastic, small obedience that goes against the grain of my nature.
Being faithful to him, even when there are no evidences of joy or peace or blessing or camaraderie of spirit with other Christians, is the measure of success.
Recently my pastor and I were reminding each other how grateful we are that when we go to be with the Lord Jesus, he’s going to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things.”
How incredible that is-God thinks exponentially! If we’ve been faithful in a teeny, tiny small matter, then God uses not arithmetic but trigonometry; he multiplies it a hundredfold. How good of God to do that based not on our success but our faithfulness and our mission. God will never do a cost-benefit analysis of our ministry.
—Joni Eareckson Tada
Something to Think About If a man is to be called a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
