Christmas Series

I gotta say the Christmas series of sermons we're hearing every Sunday are very interesting. We started off with John the Baptist, how he paved the way for Jesus to come and how he served God in his own way. Then after that came Joseph and Mary, and their willingness, faith and determination to carry through God's plan even though it must have blown their minds away, for Mary to see the angel appeared to her, for Joseph to hear such news, for Mary to give birth to her baby in such terrible conditions that health and safety officers will shudder. Yet, they were faithful to the end.

Last week we heard about the shepherds, and one thing that struck me was that God used such unimportant and lowly people to spread the good news about his son's birth. In today's equivalent, it's like using construction workers to spread the news of the birth of the king. It makes me think about ministry, when we're only sweeping the floor, or doing refreshment, or counting money, or flipping light switches in the back room during drama times, when we feel unimportant, unknown, and maybe we think it's nicer to be on stage where everyone can see you and you feel important, God can use us. We may be doing some seemingly unimportant job, but God sees, and he will use us.

What is important isn't what job or area we're serving, it isn't important that we're out in front for everyone to see, what is important is our heart, whom we serve and why we do what we do. If we have been serving only for recognition and glory, then we should check ourselves. If we have been feeling unrecognised and unappreciated, know that God sees and will reward. It's always good to check our hearts and attitudes every so often so that we walk the correct path.