FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotional — “Street Hero”

My husband is a pretty neat guy.  I mean sure, he’s smart, he’s a great dad, and he’s got a rare sense of humor.  But one of the things that impresses me the most about him is that he’s one of those “whatever you need” kind of guys, and that comes in really handy in my world.  In general, i do a decent job of spinning all of my plates: wife, mom, homeschooler, children’s pastor, blogger, meal-preparer, child-taxi, clothes-washer, etc.  But every once in awhile, all of the craziness collides in a single week and my plates run the risk of crashing to the floor.  In those moments, my spouse steps up and says, “What do you need me to do?”  And he really means it!  If I need him to cook, he cooks.  If I need him fold five loads of laundry, he folds.  And if I need him and the kids to visit his parents so I can have a few hours of quiet in the house, he loads them up and takes off.  Love it!  Love him!

Part of why the characteristic of his is so special to me is because I am so NOT that way.  I’m very willing to help someone in need, but it is not in my nature to say, “I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”  I know what my skill set is, and I very much know what it isn’t.  I am naturally drawn to things like organizing, directing, teaching, public speaking, etc.  It’s what I’m good at.  On the flip side, I have to force myself to do the behind-the-scenes leg work.  Those kinds of tasks are draining and more difficult for me.  That’s probably why God paired my husband and me—we make a good team!

What about you?  Do you serve in more public ways, or are your efforts usually behind-the-scenes?

I usually think of Jesus as a public guy.  He was a servant for certain, but His serving was almost always very visible an very high-impact.  You can almost read the headlines.  “Jesus Heals 10 Lepers”;  “Man Born Blind Given Back His Sight”; “Demon-Possessed Boy Finally Free”; “Friend Raises Friend from the Dead!”  Jesus wanted people to see who God was, and He knew how to get their attention.  But His very first miracle wasn’t as big a deal.  In fact, very few people even noticed it at all.  You can read about it together in John 2:1-12.  

Now don’t get me wrong—this was certainly a miracle.  Changing one thing to something entirely different is an act of God.  But this one just doesn’t seem as impressive as the others: “Jesus Turns Water to Wine; Master of Ceremonies Saved from Embarrassment.”  It just doesn’t have the same oomph as the others.  In fact, it would be easy to dismiss this act as completely unnecessary and unimportant.  But Jesus did what needed to be done.  Healing is certainly more beneficial…not to mention more dramatic, but no one needed to be healed at this wedding.  Jesus recognized where the problem was and stepped in to help.  He was a master at doing whatever needed to be done, wherever and whenever that need presented itself.

As His followers, we Christians are called to do the exact same thing.  God wants us to follow the Son’s example by being available to meet whatever need pops up in front of us, whenever and wherever it pops.  We think that to make a difference for the kingdom we have to do something flashy and important, but we don’t recognize how important the small things can be.  Invite the new kid to have lunch with you.  Show kindness to a sick neighbor.  Work an extra shift for a coworker.  Say something nice to your teacher.  Share your story when someone asks about God.  Invite a friend to come to church.  Make a call when you’re thinking about that friend.  Send a card.  Smile!  There are so many things we can do—little needs that may not seem important, but could have a lasting impression.

At first glance, it may seem like Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine only served to save the wedding master from embarrassment.  But take another look at verse 11:  This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. (ESV)  Yes, it was simple.  No, it didn’t save anyone’s life.  But 12 men put their full faith in the Messiah because it.  When Jesus stepped in to meet the need in front of Him, He impacted those around Him.  He wasn’t serving the disciples with HIs miracle, but their lives were transformed by what they saw Him do.

You may never know what your small acts will do, but they will have an impact.  Your willingness to do what needs done, wherever and whenever, could be just what God needs to draw that person into relationship with him.  

So are you willing?  Will you make yourself available, will you make your family available for whatever God needs you to do, whenever and wherever he says?  Is there anything that is keeping you from being available?  What can you and your family do to make yourselves more available to what God is wanting you to do?

Pray that God would help your family open your eyes to the needs around you, that he would make your hearts sensitive to those needs and increase your availability to help.