Former Blackout Artist

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. – Hebrews 6:10

I was reading the opening chapter from the Book of Acts yesterday evening and got to the part where Peter basically tells the remaining disciples, “Hey, we need to become twelve again. But it can’t be just anyone. He needs to be someone who has been with us from the very start; someone who was with us during Jesus’ baptism until He ascended to be with His Father.”

So they pared their list down to two candidates: Matthias, and Joseph called Barsabbas.

Of course, both men were qualified, but only one man could be chosen. And because they were currently an odd number, they could’ve easily taken a vote themselves and been done with the matter altogether. But that’s not what they decided to do. The only vote they were interested in was God’s. So they prayed to the Lord and petitioned His wisdom, cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias. And so it was – Matthias would become the 12th apostle.

And then, just like that, nothing else was ever recorded about Joseph in Scripture!

I sometimes wonder how Joseph may have felt about that. Was he disappointed? Maybe wonder why God had chosen someone else? Then again, it’s entirely possible that neither he nor Matthias knew they were even being considered as Judas’ replacement. We really don’t know. But it doesn’t stop me from being curious.

Simon of Cyrene is another example. He appears briefly in Scripture (Mark 15) when the Roman soldiers forced him to help carry Jesus’ cross. Other than his name, we know nothing else about him.

And there are many others in the whole of Scripture whose names appear only briefly, if at all.

Maybe part of the reason for this particular curiosity is that I’ve been known to dabble in the subtle joy-killer called “comparison.” Sometimes it just seems to come so naturally. Maybe you can relate. We see someone else getting recognized or given an awesome opportunity and we begin to wonder if God has somehow overlooked us.

The truth is that God doesn’t call all of us to the same assignment. Yes, we are all called to share the gospel and make disciples – Jesus gave all of His followers that Great Commission. But not everyone can be a pastor or missionary, just like not everyone can be a little-league baseball coach or a school bus driver.

A lot of God’s work is carried out by people whose names never make the announcements, whose service receives very little recognition. Their faithfulness may go unnoticed by just about everyone, but not God.

Remember: You may never know the full impact of your faithfulness. But God sees what others don’t. And when we serve Him with a humble heart, even the smallest act of obedience has a place in His greater purpose.