Exodus 1:15-21

The churches I attended as a child frequently hosted missionaries who were back in the States on furlough. Sunday nights were usually reserved for the missionaries to speak about the countries they were serving in, and they were always some of my favorite services. As a kid from a small town right smack dab in the middle of the country, those missionaries were my eyes and ears to the outside world. I sat riveted by their stories of living in Africa and Asia and Europe, and after each service I browsed the table full of artifacts from each faraway place and wondered where I would be called to serve. 

There was much emphasis placed on the going “to the ends of the earth” part of serving God, and as I got older I started to feel guilty for my lack of going anywhere. I went on a couple of short trips with my youth group to serve in area cities, but it didn’t feel enough compared to what those living overseas were doing. It wasn’t until a pastor from St. Louis visited one Sunday evening that I began to feel differently. St. Louis was only three hours from where I lived, where I had been to a few times on school trips, and where I had NOT picked up on any exotic vibes. St. Louis was the pastor’s hometown, and as he talked about the ministry he had established there, it began to occur to me that I, too, could serve right where I was. 

The Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1 were doing their jobs among their people and in the places where they lived. They were not required to travel to far off lands to serve the Lord; they accomplished that right where they were. In doing so the Hebrew people prospered, and the midwives were blessed.

Your sphere of influence is where you’re called to serve, whether that be in Africa, Asia, or Europe, in another state, or right here in Chatham county. Some of us ARE called to live overseas and share the Good News in faraway places. (Ask me about the work my sister-in-law does in India!) The vast majority of us can, and should, serve right where we are. The way you show God’s love to the people you come into contact with every day matters just as much as sharing the Gospel with someone in another country. You are the right person, in the right place, and at the right time!

Take a minute and think about one or two people you’ll come into contact with today. Friends at the gym, the cashier at the grocery store, the folks you work with, even your family! How can you share His love with them today?

If you’d like to read or re-read the overview/summary of this week’s passage, you can find it here.