God's assignments

For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. (Heb 6:10 ESV)

For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, (2Th 1:6-7 NASB)

This verse in Hebrews struck me recently. How comforting that God will not forget my labor. But then how much labor have I actually put forth that He should be remembering? A quick perusing of the Faith Chapter (Hebrews 11) reveals that there are many who have labored much longer and more arduously than I have. I sit here with a full belly in a warm house in a free country with every physical need that I could imagine provided for. So what labor of mine could possibly be worthy of God’s remembrance? Should I somehow make myself more uncomfortable? Should I head off to a foreign land to be persecuted and martyred?

This is not the first time that these sorts of questions have come to mind. Other verses have struck similar chords. Jesus’ words, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you,” (John 15:20) or Paul’s, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted,” (2 Tim. 3:12) have dredged up questions about why I am able to live so comfortably while others truly are persecuted for the sake of righteousness. What’s more, I’ve not heard the voice of God commissioning me personally to take the gospel to any particular people or nation. Unlike many dramatic conversion narratives, both ancient and contemporary, mine will not be adapted for screenplays or books. I have no Damascus road experience, though God’s pursuit of my soul has been nothing less than awe inspiring to me—maybe because only He and I know how hard he presses on at times to take hold of me. The essential component that I see in retrospect that I was looking for was something sensational, publically sensational. But today that is not the call that God has given to me.

The questions of persecution and conversion were answered well by two different pastors at two different times. While voicing my concern that my life was not one of suffering or persecution, a wise pastor reminded me that Jesus himself, for thirty years, grew in favor with both God and men. It was only at the twilight of his life that persecution became of the ilk that we often conjure up in our minds. The issue of conversion experience was aptly answered by another pastor who noted that the conversion experience of most of the apostles was not recorded for us, probably because they weren’t dramatic or particularly noteworthy. While I think this likely, my firm conviction regarding my conversion came from reading Jesus words to Nicodemus in John 3:3, “Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” I have seen the kingdom of God—the one spoken of by Daniel and ruled today by Jesus himself.

In response to the present concern—that my life is not laborious enough for God to remember—the pastor of the church that I currently attend gave some perceptive words. We aren’t given the luxury of evaluating the missions and assignments that God has given us to discharge. It is not for us to whine that our assignment is not more glamorous or fetching. God is in the business of furthering His kingdom and bringing glory to Himself through Jesus Christ. When we appear before the Father, we will be asked whether we obeyed him, whether we were the good and faithful servant, whether we did what God asked with what He gave us. We will not be asked why we weren’t given ten talents instead of five; we will be asked what we did with the five that were given to us.

God has given me so much: my amazing, beautiful wife Jess; an exciting and engaging occupation; the luxury of living near my family in an area that I love; but most importantly the adoption as His son through the sacrifice of His only begotten son, Jesus Christ. But in all of these blessings there is a responsibility, an assignment if you will, to be a good steward of the gifts that I have been given, to act, in whatever situation that I’m in, in a manner worthy of the gospel that I profess to herald. Frankly, these assignments have been tremendously enjoyable. But they are not sensational. If I love Jess as I ought and as God intends, God alone will know and maybe Jess. If I work with integrity and demonstrate the peace of Christ among what might be a stressful work environment, maybe no one else will even notice. God alone will know. If our family is bound tightly not because of blood ties but because of the ties of the Spirit, outsiders will simply chalk it up to dumb luck or perceptive parenting. God alone will know that we are bound by His Spirit. My prayers to God for many who do not yet know Him will never be published or even divulged. But God alone will know that it is with the love of Christ that I pray for them. In the end, God will ask me if I prayed for those He gave me to pray for, if I loved those I was given to love, if I spoke the words I was given to speak. On this basis He will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” These labors, which represent obedience to and consequently love for God, He will certainly not forget.