Good morning. If there were one word that could sum up the desire of most of us regarding the lives we live, perhaps that word would be “useful”. It may seem to be a rather poor and all too common word to be considered as a worthy desire for life, but to look back on life and believe that by the grace of God we lived in such a way that we were truly useful to Him, to our loved ones, and to the people with whom we shared our path would be pleasing indeed.
There is a story of a young boy shaking the preacher’s hand at the door at the end of the church service. The little boy smiled at the preacher and said “I’ve been doing chores and saving my money. Next Sunday I’m going to bring some to give to you.” The preacher was touched by such thoughtfulness, but didn’t think it appropriate to be personally taking money from a child, so he said to the boy “Well that is very kind of you to think of me, but why do you feel it is important that you share your hard-earned money?” “Well,” said the boy, “I figure you need it since my dad says you have to be the poorest preacher this church has ever had.”
Speaking for all preachers everywhere, “Ouch!” The guy’s work says that he should be best known for one thing, and therefore it is the one thing he would like to consider that for which he is most useful, and an honest child tells him…not so much.
Doing the best that we can and being as useful as we can be, especially in what we are doing for our Lord, should be our aim throughout every day. Another story that I think applies is from Heart of Joy by Mother Teresa. She writes of a time when visitors to Calcutta came to look upon her work there and to share in it for a while. They had this question when they were about to leave and go back to their homes. She wrote, “They asked me to tell them something that would be useful for them to lead their lives in a more profitable way. I answered, ‘Smile at each other. Smile at your wives and your husbands, at your children, and at all you meet. Let mutual love for others grow each day in all of you.’”
There is a “how to” statement of usefulness found in 2 Peter 1:5-8 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To smile with genuine warmth, to serve with heart felt eagerness, grow in spirit and in love, to be useful to God and people, these, I believe, are reasonable goals.
Vern