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It may seem like a strange thing to admit, but as a pastor who is in the public eye, I have found it challenging over the years to find ways to serve people without anyone noticing. So much of a pastor’s ministry can be seen publicly, such as preaching on Sundays or visiting someone in the hospital. But the little things matter as well: praying for our flocks, writing cards and letters of encouragement, and calling to check in on members of the congregation to comfort and help them. While I have some friends in the church who like to joke that “pastors only work on Sundays,” the reality is that I don’t see what I do on Sundays as part of my work week. The Lord’s Day is a day of rest and worship for me just as much as it is for any other Christian. Although it is tiring in its own way to preach during our two morning services and one evening service (not to mention to speak with people throughout the day as time allows), it is a delight to do so. So, when people ask me, “When is your Sabbath?” I respectfully reply, “It’s the same as yours.” It’s the Lord’s Day for pastors—just as it’s the Lord Day for choir members, musicians, Sunday school teachers, deacons, elders, greeters, ushers, and all those who serve the Lord in numerous other ways on Sundays.
Regardless, all Christians serve the Lord in noticeable ways—not just pastors. Whether we have official titles and roles or don’t possess a particular title in ministry (like most Christians), we are called to serve the Lord faithfully not just in the big things that people see but in the little things that few, if anyone, see. Life is made up, mostly, of little things: making dinner, washing dishes, talking to a neighbor, or changing a diaper. Most of our faithfulness to the Lord is in our striving to be faithful in the little things of life. We know that God always sees. He sees the big things we do, and He sees the little things we do, and as our heavenly Father He cares about all of them. He always sees and rewards (Matt. 25:21), as long as our motives are right and we are not practicing our righteousness before others in order to be seen and praised by them (6:1–4). God calls us to strive to be faithful in all of life, in the big things, the little things, and in all the in-between things, resting in the glorious truth that Jesus was faithful in everything. He obeyed every jot and tittle of the law, and He died on the cross for our unfaithfulness to Him. Our ultimate hope is not in our complete and utter faithfulness in everything but in the faithfulness of our God, who has called us to rest in Christ as we follow Christ by His grace and for His glory, as we live before His face, coram Deo.