Majoring in the Minors
“Well done, my good and faithful servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.” – Luke 19:17
It’s mid-season for professional baseball, and it’s always interesting to watch which pitchers the major league teams will call up from the minor leagues. It’s great that these hard-working young rookies finally get a chance to pitch in the majors!
Have you ever thought of life on this earth as the “minor leagues”—with Christians working hard to gain a berth high up in the major leagues of heaven? I’m not talking about earning salvation. That’s already been paid for with the blood of our Savior and we can add nothing to it. But we do have the opportunity to earn eternal rewards in this life. Scripture tells us that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for things done while in the body” (II Corinthians 5:10). The way I live life on earth will affect my responsibilities, opportunities, and even my joy—in ways beyond my ability to imagine.
This is what makes our present life so exciting. It’s a training gymnasium! Your nine-to-five job isn’t merely an occupation, it’s a proving ground for your faith. Every earthly problem, affliction, task, household chore—and all the relationships that go with them—everything is a minor league exercise to prepare you for the major leagues. My longing for heaven is not a pie-in-the-sky desire to leave this tiresome old wheelchair behind. No, I see my earthly afflictions as opportunities to demonstrate my faithfulness.
Stand firm, my friend. The dawn is coming. Life everlasting. Oceans of light. Joy unspeakable. Be trustworthy and remain faithful. Because there will be no sweeter music in time or eternity than the words “Well done” from the smiling face of our Savior and King.
Taken from Joni’s Pearls of Great Price devotional.
