Doing Our Role

Hi, and welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled Doing Our Role, was written by Dave Brannon. When two of my grandchildren tried out for the musical Alice in Wonderland Jr., their hearts were set on getting leading roles. Maggie wanted to be young Alice, and Katie thought Matilda would be a good role. But they were chosen to be flowers, not exactly a ticket to Broadway.

Yet my daughter said the girls were excited for their friends who got the leading roles. Their joy seemed greater cheering for their friends and sharing in their excitement. What a picture of how our interactions with each other in the body of Christ should look. Every local church has what might be considered key roles, but it also needs the flowers, the ones who do vital but not so high-profile work. If others get roles we desire, may we choose to encourage them even as we passionately fulfill the roles God has given us. In fact, helping and encouraging others is a way to show love for Him. Hebrews 6 10 says, God will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people, and no gift from His hand is unimportant. First Peter 4 10 says, Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace. Just imagine a church of encouragers diligently using their God-given gifts to His honor.

Now that makes for joy and excitement. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Hebrews chapter 6 verses 9 through 12. Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case, the things that have to do with salvation.

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. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Let's pray. Father God, help us not to assign value to certain roles over others, then seek out the ones that seem to bring the most praise and attention, but to seek to understand the unique role You have for us. Remind us that any role You have appointed us is important and that there is no greater honor in life than to serve You. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.