In one of his speeches John F. Kennedy said that America would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. “In a very real sense,” he said, “it will not be one man going to the moon—it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.”

Later that decade he was touring a NASA facility when he saw a man with a mop. Kennedy asked: “What are you doing?” The man replied: “Putting the first man on the moon, sir.”*

Isn’t that brilliant? The man could have replied that he was cleaning the floor or that he wanted to catch a glimpse of the President. But he remembered Kennedy’s words from that earlier speech. Sure, he was cleaning. But he was also contributing to the functioning of a nation who had a larger mission.

Here’s the connection.

Each and every follower of Jesus is unique. We have different personalities, strengths, interests, and jobs. At the same time, we are also contributing to a larger mission. We are showing and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. We are glorifying God as his hands and feet. We are getting in on the ways he is bringing heaven to earth.

Knowing this gives you a greater sense of hope and purpose as you go about your daily life.

I’m not telling you what to say the next time someone asks you what you’re doing. You may be picking up a prescription, feeding the cat, having a friendly conversation at Starbucks, or splitting wood. But think big. You are glorifying God as the hands and feet of Jesus. You may not always feel like it, but if you are in him, and if you seek his glory and want to be faithful to his call on your life, then all your little actions are somehow contributing to his greater mission.

God puts all the pieces together in the coming of his kingdom.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul wrote: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” By extension, let me also say this: So whether you teach or type, whether you design or drive, whether you create or provide care, and whether you bake or build…

…do it all for the glory of God.

Little actions, big mission.

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Notes:

–*Nancy Duarte, Resonate (Hoboken: Wiley, 2010), 194.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.