MAX Lucado writes of a 19 year- old girl who was having trouble figuring out what she really wanted to do for the rest of her life. She had great athletic ability but in the end discovered that her real passion in life was ART. In particular, ceramics where even as a student her writings were published in the prestigious Ceramics Monthly journal and the world’s permier ceramics school, Alfred University invited her to study with them.

When she was interviewed in Italy she was asked “ How can your art degree make a big deal out of God?” She gave two answers. “The art world has few Jesus followers. When I do my best, they will notice, not just me, but my Lord.” She then described a time when she had worked with handicapped children, drawing pictures on balloons and giving it to them. “When the work of my hands makes little girls smile, that’s where my heart is.” I do not think it was just the smiles on the little girls’ faces that motivated her life ultimately. It is the smile on our Lord’s face that matters most. Even at 19 years of age, a desire to simply … “make a big deal out of God” became her life’s calling.

In a nutshell, isn’t that what “worthy living” is all about? Whilst the rest of the world races along to make a big deal out of things that in the end matter little... (they are really small deals in comparison), she has homed in on what really matters in life…Jesus. When our gifts illuminate Him and help His children that’s when we are living in a manner that pleases Him, that is worthy of Him. Some of us are a few decades older than this 19 year old but when they look upon our lives do they see just another professional climbing the corporate ladder or just another father laying bread on the table? Has the flame of passion for Him been dimmed by the storms and disappointments of life? Or perhaps we might say that we are too small to make a difference. Lucado writes “A common life? Heaven knows no such phrase. With God every day matters, every person counts.” God has taken the trouble to make each person unique. Just look at our DNA. It is so unique that the police use it to track a person’s identity. Each member of our Subang family counts. Each one has a unique skill or gift to bring to the table that will intensify the flame of witness that we shine to the world. How many of us pitch in will determine how brightly our light shines and how deeply it penetrates into the darkness.

As a church, the rest of the community will look on us to see what the big deal is all about. Why do they come in week after week? Why do they plan their activities, why do they bother to reach out to help the lowest of the lows? When they notice us, will they notice our Lord?

Let us be the kind of church that makes a big deal out of God!