We live in a sensationalistic time. 

Stories that are sensational make the news. People who do sensational things get noticed.

To a degree, that makes sense. I get it. 

But we can’t lose sight of the fact that so many of the important and faithful things we do in life are not going to impress others or make the news. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t wonderful and God-honouring things that make a real difference. 

Let me provide two examples.

Rachel was 8 years old. She had a birthday party coming up. Who doesn’t look forward to balloons, cake, friends and presents when you’re 8!

At Sunday school, Rachel learned that there are people in the world who don’t have access to clean drinking water. It troubled her. So instead of presents, she asked friends to bring donations. $220 was raised.

Stuart grew up without a dad. When he was a teenager his mom got together with another man. They didn’t get along and Stuart was thrown out of the house. 

By the grace of God, Stuart continued in school and eventually went to college to study engineering. A friend invited him to church and he eventually gave his life to Jesus. 

The people at church were very friendly. One family invited him to lunch after a service. The mom gave Stuart a hug. He became overwhelmed. He couldn’t remember the last time someone hugged him. 

In God’s kingdom, small things are never just small things if they are God things. Jesus said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32).

Don’t let the sensationalism of our time mess with your thinking about what matters to God.

You don’t have to make a splash to make a difference.

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Notes:

–The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week and returns on September 30, 2024.

–*Sharon James, A Student’s Guide to Worldview (Christian Focus, 2022), 61, 73.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.