Today I’m thinking about unsung heroes. Our church is full of them. Think of the folks who greet you when you enter. Think of Willie Miller and Melba Dabbs and dozens more like them who teach your preschoolers. Think of those who pull the weeds from the flower beds and pick up trash from the parking lot. And speaking of unsung—how about those music teachers who pour their lives into our children on Wednesday nights? The children did a masterful job singing in front of the church Sunday night but their teachers were mostly in the background. They were unseen but not unimportant.
Bro. Tim Moak and I are in front of you Sunday after Sunday. But the church really functions on the backs and hearts and wallets of hundreds of volunteers who give of themselves week by week without reservation, without fanfare, and without need to be recognized. These are the unsung heroes of the church.
The early church was also full of unsung heroes. Some of them are named briefly. Think of Priscilla and Aquilla who, having left Rome due to persecution, established a tentmaking business with Paul so they could make a living while they shared the Gospel (Acts 18). When opposition grew in Corinth, the three moved to Ephesus. Through their influence on Apollos they made a difference in Corinth. In Ephesus Priscilla and Aquilla established a church in their home. Despite hardships, they remained faithful. They made a difference for Christ in the lives of others. We don’t know much more about Priscilla and Aquilla but they were heroes of the faith.
Other unsung heroes have even less space devoted to them in the Scriptures. Quick, who was the person who delivered the letter and supplies to Paul from Philippi while Paul was in prison? Off the top of your head can you supply the name of the priest who furnished David something to eat when he was escaping from Saul? The Bible doesn’t tell us the name of the lad who voluntarily supplied his loaves and fish for Jesus to multiply. Yet his mother apparently packed her son’s lunch that day and he offered it to Jesus not knowing that the lunch was the raw material for a miracle.
And that’s how it is with unsung heroes. You give and work and serve and pray and help others. And you are willing for eternity to deal with the rewards. God gets the glory and that’s all that matters.
Do something for an unsung hero of the church this week. Give a word of thanks. Write a note. Smile at them. Speak a kind word. And then, determine to be an unsung hero yourself. Decide to do something for the Kingdom that no one but God knows.
Celebrating unsung heroes with you,
Bill Patterson
Posted on
Thursday, April 17, 2008
by Bill Patterson