Helping people see beyond evangelism, ethics and excellence – these are quite important, even essential. But does anything else matter? After all, what is important to God?
A few years ago I found myself on the Serengeti. It is a dramatic expanse with herds everywhere—zebra, gazelles, wildebeests, elephants—all sorts of animals. And then there are the hunters that we all want to see—the lions, leopards, and even hyenas. The plains are vast indeed with some things easily seen and others almost hidden.
And then there are the little things. After looking in our amazement across the plain, I glanced down to observe some of the things that were much closer. These things were also much less visible until you actually looked. There were turtles, lizards, snakes, rodents and the like. And then I saw the dung beetle—about one and a half inches long rolling up a ball the size of a softball. What was he doing?
The dung beetle gathers dung from the herds, combines it with clippings from grasses, and makes a home in which it has its young. Though that’s a bit interesting, what then came to mind is the system that God has designed!
Wow! Imagine all the ways in which the players in this field engage together to make a very complicated system work. Individually they have no idea what their roles are, but God designed each of these creatures and plants to play a role. It all fits together in a wonderful design.
I think that’s how we should look at our little parts in the societies in which we live making the products and services that we make. It is all a part of God’s plan for His image-bearers to have a part of His dominion over His creation. It’s a large system of life designed by God in which we live and work and play a part. I think that’s amazing!
We don’t always see all the benefits of our roles, although once in a while God give us a glimpse of what we do and how it fits into His kingdom as it functions right here on earth. Let’s praise God for the creativity that He has put in us. Let’s enjoy our contributions that come from our giftedness. Let’s let God’s light shine through us in whatever we do.
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Dr. Robert C. Varney is Vice President of Leader-Led Movements for Global Cities, a division of Campus Crusade for Christ International.