God’s Yardstick

Have you ever questioned how much your work matters?

At grade school one day, my daughter forgot her retainers in the lunchroom. She checked with the office, and I called when she got home, but those retainers were buried somewhere in a messy heap of who-knows-what trash, and she felt awful. But then the school called us about 6 p.m.. The janitor, Mr. Wolfe, had dug through all the lunchroom garbage and found my daughter’s retainers.

Mr. Wolfe was my daughter’s hero that day. Everybody knew he loved kids. After all, he had about ten of his own, as I recall.

I admit I’ve had moments wondering if my hard work on some things were worth it.. But then I remember Mr. Wolfe rummaging garbage for my child, and I understand that God’s yardstick for people’s lives is divided into increments of love, not public acclaim or dollar signs. Obviously, Mr. Wolfe, in addition to being my child’s hero, passed God’s test for valuable work.

It’s simple, really. A yardstick of fame and fortune with only an inch of love may not impress God all that much. But a yardstick of love earns heaven’s accolades, even if few, if any, respect the kind or amount of work applied. We can complain and argue the point, but God gets to decide. It’s His call.

The following excerpt from the Message Bible gives us a fresh look at 1 Corinthians 13:7: “So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want be so bankrupt of love that nothing I’ve done matters in God’s eyes. I’d much rather be like Mr. Wolfe.

In fact, someday I hope to see him rewarded for loving my little girl enough to dig through all that stinky, wet garbage. I thanked him when it happened, but in heaven, I will be in the crowd wildly cheering and applauding.