“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:19-23 NIV)
Yesterday, my wife and I spent much of the day sharing memories about her mom. Her funeral was in the morning and it was our way to be present without being there. One of the most meaningful and enjoyable things we did was to read some of the letters she wrote to my wife while she served as a missionary in various parts of the world. It was easy to imagine her sitting at her dining table with pen in hand updating Marianna on the latest news from home. And, in the midst of the translation (from Afrikaans to English), I could hear her voice. She was a faithful letter writer, a small thing when you think about it, but such a wonderful and meaningful thing now that she has left this world.
If a celebrity or someone very accomplished dies, the world always points to the person’s achievements, whether it be awards won, money made, or his or her impact on the world at large. The emphasis is on the big things they did. But I can guarantee you that is not the focus of those who knew them best. Oscars, Nobels, inventions that changed in some way how we live are not the things family and friends remember or appreciate the most. Rather than the big things that catch the eye of the public, it is the little things that mean the most to those closest to the deceased—the short letters or notes written, the small acts of kindness, the shared experiences that don’t seem that big at the time.
Our culture puts a lot of emphasis on aiming to do big things, to change the world in some way. It reminds me of someone whose goal is to have a book published without understanding the fact a book is made up of many words, which form paragraphs, which, in turn, form the chapters that make a book. It can only be written if one writes using individual words in sentences, and it will be determined to be great only if the use of the individual words exhibits great skill. To write a great book, you have to be excellent with using the individual words. In the same way, it is the compilation of very small things over a lifetime that makes a life. What one does in the minutes and hours of daily life contributes more to greatness than some one-off achievement. Those are the things the people closest to us will remember and the ones on which the Lord places the most emphasis.
My mother-in-law, by the world’s standards, didn’t achieve much in her lifetime. She wasn’t famous; she didn’t change the world. But she was faithful in the life she was given. She was faithful to her husband of over 50 years; she raised and loved six children; she loved the Lord; and she faithfully sent cards and wrote letters. Her life was rich and meaningful because of the little things in which she was so faithful. Now I believe she is receiving the reward of much greater things.
Today, realize the sum total of your life is not determined by a few big accomplishments; rather it is by the little things you do over the course of your lifetime. It is the faithfulness in the small things that one day will lead to much greater things.
© Jim Musser 2017
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