Summertime is beginning to fade and in a week or two, the air will turn crisp and breezy with the hint of fall. And this Labor Day is a great time to celebrate the end of summer with the last big barbecue of the season. Soon it will be County Fair time… harvest time, right around the corner.
When I was a kid, I loved going to the Howard County Fair right off of route 40 on the way to Frederick, Maryland. We’d walk through the barns and gawk at the biggest cows and pigs I’d ever seen as a kid. Then there were other buildings with rows and rows of pies and cakes, jars of pickles and tomatoes.
One year my sister, Kathy, purchased a handmade cathedral-stitched quilt from a farmer’s wife – it was the blue ribbon winner that year and the stitches are the tiniest, most perfect you’ve ever seen. Kathy gave the quilt to me when I moved to California, and to this day I proudly display it on our bed in the guest bedroom.
I know someone from the Bible who could have easily walked away with a County Fair blue ribbon. It’s the story of Dorcas in Acts 9. It says she was always doing good in helping the poor, but the Holy Spirit was careful to add in Scripture that Dorcas was especially applauded for the fine garments she sewed. As her story goes, Dorcas became ill and she suddenly died – at the funeral, widows one after another came forward with the clothes Dorcas had sewn, as if to remind everyone that this woman’s life was as fine as her work.
Can you imagine the joy these people felt when God brought Dorcas back to life? I sometimes wonder what she did with her new life… the second chance God gave her. Did she move on to bigger and better things? No, I think Dorcas chose to remain in the simple ministry she enjoyed before she died – the simple life to which she was accustomed. Her heart was in helping others.
If blue ribbons were to be given out – and, in a way, they will be given out one day before the Judgment Seat of Christ – it’s Dorcas who will receive the prize… not so much for her fine garments, but for her outreach to the needy that was as consistent and excellent as the careful seams she stitched. Nothing elaborate. Nothing fancy. Just careful attention to detail. Just a commitment to do it well and to know that what you’ve done will have a lasting impact.
Friend, think of the service you perform in your household… in your community… in your church or neighborhood. If it’s plain, ordinary service with a careful attention to doing it well (and doing it for God's glory), then the quality of your work will reflect the pattern from which your spiritual uniqueness was cut. And I'm no judge, but in my estimation, friend, you’re heading for a blue ribbon.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends