And Then Some!

“Be faithful in the little things and I will make you a ruler over many.”

- Jesus, Matthew 25:21

“Even when I was a small child I knew that when I said Hello, someone heard.”

- Anne Lamott, from J. Ortberg’s “God is Closer Than You Think”

Two small boys were fighting over the last twinkie when Mom showed up and said, “Boys!  Boys!  Stop that!  Don’t you remember that Jesus always shared what He had with others?!”  The boys stopped, looked at the twinkie, and the older one said to the younger one, “OK, you be Jesus?”

As we examine the seventh Fruit of the Spirit, faithfulness, this appears to be the question, doesn’t it?  Who’s going to be “Jesus” in that relationship, that marriage, that business deal, that promise or that commitment?

In Genesis 24, Isaac is looking for a wife.  And because this is before eharmony.com, he sends his servant Eleazar across the desert to his father’s homeland 500 miles away.  When he arrives, he and his camels are standing next to a well when a beautiful young woman approaches carrying a water jug on her head.  She offers him a drink of water.  Now that was expected of her.  In the Old Testament, it was customary to offer water to a stranger.  It was the Law of Hospitality.  But then she did the unexpected.  She said, “I’ll draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough to drink” (Genesis 24:19).

Think about this.  The woman had ten camels to water.  Camels hold 40 gallons of water.  They had traveled 500 miles and they were running on empty.  That’s 400 gallons of water!  The result?

She grabbed the attention, not only of Eleazar, but also of God.  And she became the great-great-great-great-grandmother of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  

All because she did not just give what was expected of her.  She gave what was expected and then some!

Forty-one times in the Old Testament, God is called “El Shaddai,” which means the God who is more than enough, not just the get-by-God.  He is more than enough, and He has promised to reward and bless those who are faithful in the little things, who do what’s expected of them and then some!

In a world where too many people are asking, “How little can I do and get away with it,” why not create some double-takes by doing what’s expected and then some!  You be “Jesus” to someone in your world today!

Pastor Harry

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