Faithful in the Small Things

This a lengthy reply in response to Shannon's post and the comments that followed.

Why don't we all pursue feeding the world's hungry through creating an organization to do just what you described? Why don't we quit our jobs and do these great acts of faith?

I think it is the things that I would like to do (stop war, feed a nation of hungry people, adopt a child) are not the things that I am called to do. Mother Teresa is a good example of this. She served doing what she was supposed to do. It started small as caring ministry for the poor in Calcutta; then it grew big. We too often want to start big. The same is true of Shane Claiborne. He started helping the poor in rundown Philadelphia, but his passion has caught fire. I would also assume that many faithful servants have served almost anonymously without being celebrated or having their methods catch fire.

But maybe I need to reevaluate my life. If so, we all would need to reevaluate our lives. I do not think any of our readers, even the most sacrificial, are doing all they could do. Maybe we need to give birth to an organization that is focused on feeding the world's hungry, stopping violence, and giving loving parents to the orphaned children around the world. I think a church hiring someone to create such programs would be a better use of resources than hiring a youth minister.

Aren't there organizations already tackling those problems?

In the end, if we are focused on being disciples, we do what we are called to do. We cannot do everything we would like to do, but we need to make sure we are doing some things. We need to be masters of the small things in a world that only celebrates the big. For Shannon, it was adopting a child. For others, it takes on different forms. This is part of the reason I believe in specific callings (which I know some on here disagree with) because there are millions of options of what to do and we cannot do 99.9% of them. We need to be sensitive to God's leading and do what he wants us to do here and now. It might be starting an organization to change the world or adopting a child, or it might be spending time with a neighbor going through a rough time or lovingly bandaging up our child's scraped knee. The great things I would like to do are not really the things that I am called to do. Some acts of love are more celebrated here on earth than others, but each act of love is necessary.