There’s work to be done
She sat quietly in the small, princess salon chair enjoying the rare treat of a Sunday afternoon pedicure. Having never met a stranger, she had already introduced herself and carried on a bit of small talk. But his eyes were now focused on her tiny feet, and he filed her toenails likely assuming their conversation was over.
“So…did you to go church this morning?”
It was a question of pure curiosity.
“No. No I didn’t go to church. I have to work on Sundays,” he replied, and I could hear the surprise in his voice.
“Did you go to church today?” He returned the question.
“Surely did,” she said.
“Do you go every week?”
“Yep, sure do.”
He smiled and chuckled at her response, and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as I listened to their conversation unfold. My heart toggled back and forth between pride and conviction – I was so proud to watch my precious child witness to a total stranger and yet convicted that I, myself, hadn’t been courageous enough to mention anything about my faith to the stranger painting my toenails.
In his letter to the church in Corinth, Paul brings up a situation that has caused some division as people are aligning themselves with either Paul or Apollos. He says:
“We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. For we are both God’s workers.” - 1 Corinthians 3:5-9
If you are a follower of Christ, you are one of God’s workers. God may be using you to plant seeds in the lives of others, or He may be using you to water the seeds another has planted. Regardless, there is work to be done.
I often find myself looking for work in “big ways” while forgetting that God is using our routine, simple, daily interactions to accomplish His work.
And so maybe you’re not spending time feeding the hungry in a shelter, but you might have the opportunity to talk with a stranger as you stand in line at the grocery store. Or maybe you aren’t able to take a mission trip across the world, but you find yourself in the same office space 40 hours a week with a co-worker who doesn’t know Christ.
Ask a question. Strike up a conversation. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Seeds need to be planted, and seeds need to be watered. You are one of God’s workers, and there is work to be done.
