Insignificant or Not

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by Sherry Chamblee

I sat across a McDonald’s table a few weeks ago from a guy with a visible disability. He’s in his 60s, and has lived on his own for most of his life. Sometimes he’s been homeless, sometimes in a state institution, married a couple times – no kids. Now he’s truly on his own. You don’t know him. You’ve never heard of him.  

If he rode his electric wheelchair past you, you might avert your eyes just trying to be polite and not wanting to appear to stare at his disfigured hand, his withered legs, his twisted smile. He might not even notice you either, and that’s okay I suppose. He’s alone. He’s used to being alone. He’s used to doing for himself. Despite the wheelchair, despite the disability, he really can get himself around town, he can take care of most of his needs, and has some state-provided help to take care of the other things.  

But he’s still alone.

That morning, as I sat across from him at that table, I had the sense that I’d been sent to him for a very special purpose. I listened to him tell me bits about his life and even more about his loneliness and his thoughts on whether or not God paid attention to him. He believes in God. He trusts in Christ as his savior. He has a church that he attends when he’s able. He knows the gospel, and I believe he trusts in it. But he still wonders if God really sees him – if God really hears him when he talks.

So I said what I felt God had led me there to say – that God does hear him, God does care about him, God is paying attention to him.  

Then, later, I got to thinking. 

You will more than likely never know who this man is. You will never meet him, you will never see him on the local or national news. The world will barely know this man exists. Yet God sent another human being to talk to him, for the sole purpose of reassuring him that God cares about him. That’s it. This man will never affect society, or have a huge impact, or perhaps even lead anyone else to Christ because of his halting speech. He will not make any sort of difference to the majority of people in this world – not on his own at least. He’s not going to become a great preacher or open an orphanage or lead millions to Christ. The majority of people who do talk to him are other people who are in the same position he is in. They also have largely no impact on the world around them. 

 (Please understand, I’m not saying anyone actually is insignificant – just that sometimes we feel that way.) Yet God took a moment to orchestrate a meeting so that this man – who the world would call insignificant – could hear just the fact that God loves him and cares what happens in his day to day life.  

Wow. Think of that. How awesome is that?

We so often study the lives of those who are great in this world. The preachers who made a huge difference we can quantify. The missionaries who have made such great sacrifices and changed the world. The faithful layperson who brings many coworkers to church and leads people to the Lord in their neighborhood. The dedicated parent who raises kids purposely to be a glory to God. Don’t get me wrong, I wholly believe these are absolutely valid people to look up to and learn about and emulate – and even give honor to. 

But we spend so much time looking at these great ones, that we often forget about the other half. We forget that there are a whole world of other people out there, too.

And we forget that God does not only care for those who make a big splash.  

God cares about the most insignificant person on the planet. 

He cares enough to send them a word of encouragement. He cares enough, regardless if they’ll be able to pass that on, or if they’ll grow up to be a great preacher or missionary or evangelist, or if they’ll raise a ton of kids who’ll grow up to be Godly truth bearers.

And then remember this the next time you feel insignificant, the next time you wonder if you’re really making a difference, the next time you doubt that God could care for you when there’s an entire planet of people out there, and you’re feeling like just another number.

And remember, there’s no one too insignificant for God to care about.

About the Author:

Sherry Chamblee

Sherry grew up in various cities around northern and central California. This gave her all sorts of stories that sat and festered in her brain, waiting to be let loose. She eventually went to college in Wisconsin, where she met her equally frenetic husband, Rich. They have six (yes, count them) children, two dogs and a cat, and currently reside in a madhouse in the southern California area. As a family, they enjoy being active in their local church. Sherry spends her time writing when not caring for Granny, the kids, the dogs, the cat and any number of strays in the neighborhood.

Sherry Chamblee can be found at http://www.sherrychamblee.weebly.com Or check out her books at http://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Chamblee/e/B00BA06RJ2/

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