Nobodies

1 Corinthians 12:19-25

Pull a sheet of scratch paper out of your memory bank and see how well you do with the following questions:

Who taught Martin Luther his theology and inspired his translation of the New Testament?
Who visited with Dwight L. Moody at a shoe store and spoke to him about Christ?
Who was the wife of Charles Haddon Spurgeon?
Who was the elderly woman who prayed faithfully for Billy Graham for over twenty years?
Who helped Charles Wesley get under way as a composer of hymns?
Who were the parents of the godly and gifted prophet Daniel?

Okay, how’d you do? Before you excuse your inability to answer these questions by calling the quiz “trivia,” better stop and think. Had it not been for such unknown persons—such “nobodies”—a huge chunk of church history would be missing. And a lot of lives would have been untouched.

Nobodies. What a necessary band of men and women . . . servants of the King . . . yet nameless in the kingdom! Men and women who, with silent heroism and faithful diligence, relinquish the limelight and live in the shade of public figures.

As Jim Elliot, martyred messenger of the gospel to the Aucas once remarked: “Missionaries are a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody.”

Praise God! We’re among that elite group mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12: “some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary . . . . So God has put the body together in such a way that extra honor and care are given to those parts that might otherwise seem less important” (vv. 22, 24, TLB).

If it weren’t for the heroic “nobodies,” we wouldn’t have any sound or lights or heat or air conditioning in our churches next Sunday. We wouldn’t have homes in which high schoolers can meet on Sunday nights to sing and share. We wouldn’t have church staff and officers and teachers working together behind the scenes.

Nobodies . . . exalting Somebody.

Are you playing a behind-the-scenes role? Thank God for giving you that opportunity.

Were it not for a lot of unknown "nobodies," a lot of lives would remain untouched today.

Charles R. Swindoll Tweet This

Taken from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Posted in Christian Living and tagged .

Accuracy, clarity, and practicality all describe the Bible-teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll. Chuck is the chairman of the board at Insight for Living and the chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary. Chuck also serves as the senior pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where he is able to do what he loves most—teach the Bible to willing hearts. His focus on practical Bible application has been heard on the Insight for Living radio broadcast since 1979.