“Do the Little That You Can!”
From the "Gracevine" newsletter for Grace Lutheran Church, Thornville, Ohio, May, 2023
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Proverbs 3:27 ESV (Monthly Watchword for May 2023)
During this year’s season of Lent, I enjoyed talking during Wednesday evening worship about the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer in conjunction with the various hymns of a Swedish Lutheran woman named Lina Sandell (full name: Carolina Wilhelmina Sandell-Berg). The daughter of a Lutheran pastor in Sweden, she lived between 1832 and 1903. During her life, she wrote approximately 600 hymns, leading many to label her “the Fanny Crosby of Sweden.” In the English-speaking world, her most famous hymns are “Children of the Heavenly Father,” “Day by Day,” and “Thy Holy Wings.” All these and more have been a great strength to me personally. They are warm, sweet expressions of faith. Though the texts are simple, they are filled with biblical concepts and images. One must know the Bible well to pick up on all of them.
When I think of the many spiritual influences in my life, Lina Sandell ranks high on my list. Unfortunately, only a tiny fraction of her hymns have been translated into English for us to enjoy. But as I thought about the Watchword for this month of May, I call to mind one of her hymns that as of yet remains only in Swedish: Gör det lilla du kan (Literally: “Do the little that you can”). It is based on the words of Jesus from Matthew 25:40. In response to the righteous, who served those in need, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
These people did little things that might not seem so significant: giving the hungry food, giving the thirsty a drink, welcoming a stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the prisoners. In Gör det lilla du kan, Lina Sandell encourages people to go about their lives remembering that in the process of serving others, we are really serving God.
One of the great contributions of the Lutheran tradition to the broader Christian world is its emphasis on what we call vocation. In what we sometimes call “the priesthood of all believers,” Martin Luther taught that the “religious” calling of the pastor does not place the pastor on a higher spiritual level than laypeople. True, the pastor’s call is distinct and important, but he wanted all Christians to realize that together we share in a common priesthood as the body of Christ: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 ESV).
We are all called to be priests in service to God in our own stations in life, in our families, professionally, and as volunteers, and God can and does use us in many and various vocations in life. God has blessed us in many and different ways, but as Peter reminds us in the verse quoted above, those blessings are given for a purpose: to give glory to God and help to our fellow humans, even in small ways. The Watchword for May from Proverbs 3:27 prods us to share good with “those to whom it is due.”
To whom is good due? Sometimes our daily tasks seem like a burden. Sometimes the help we offer others seems to go unappreciated. Sometimes we wonder what impact our lives actually make. Sometimes we wonder what we have to contribute. As thankless as our service can seem, good is due to everyone simply by virtue of the fact that God loves His creation and the people of the world. The events leading up to Easter remind us that God has not held anything back in showing his love to us. All around us we see great need in those who are lonely, afflicted, and in other types of distress, and such people are also the objects of God’s love.
“Do the little that you can.” A little can go a long way. While it is important to be wise and discerning in how we serve others (avoiding enabling rather than genuine helping), God gives us many opportunities to share His love. The people I remember most in my own life are those who treated me kindly in challenging times, and they most likely did not realize the effect they had on me.
As priests in service to God, we show forth the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection not usually by miracles or mighty acts of heroism, but rather by looking at those around us with the eyes of our Savior, with eyes of love and compassion. How is God currently working through you? How is God calling you to do the little that you can?
Pr. Tom Jacobson
From the "Gracevine" newsletter for Grace Lutheran Church, Thornville, Ohio, May, 2023
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Proverbs 3:27 ESV (Monthly Watchword for May 2023)
During this year’s season of Lent, I enjoyed talking during Wednesday evening worship about the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer in conjunction with the various hymns of a Swedish Lutheran woman named Lina Sandell (full name: Carolina Wilhelmina Sandell-Berg). The daughter of a Lutheran pastor in Sweden, she lived between 1832 and 1903. During her life, she wrote approximately 600 hymns, leading many to label her “the Fanny Crosby of Sweden.” In the English-speaking world, her most famous hymns are “Children of the Heavenly Father,” “Day by Day,” and “Thy Holy Wings.” All these and more have been a great strength to me personally. They are warm, sweet expressions of faith. Though the texts are simple, they are filled with biblical concepts and images. One must know the Bible well to pick up on all of them.
When I think of the many spiritual influences in my life, Lina Sandell ranks high on my list. Unfortunately, only a tiny fraction of her hymns have been translated into English for us to enjoy. But as I thought about the Watchword for this month of May, I call to mind one of her hymns that as of yet remains only in Swedish: Gör det lilla du kan (Literally: “Do the little that you can”). It is based on the words of Jesus from Matthew 25:40. In response to the righteous, who served those in need, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
These people did little things that might not seem so significant: giving the hungry food, giving the thirsty a drink, welcoming a stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the prisoners. In Gör det lilla du kan, Lina Sandell encourages people to go about their lives remembering that in the process of serving others, we are really serving God.
One of the great contributions of the Lutheran tradition to the broader Christian world is its emphasis on what we call vocation. In what we sometimes call “the priesthood of all believers,” Martin Luther taught that the “religious” calling of the pastor does not place the pastor on a higher spiritual level than laypeople. True, the pastor’s call is distinct and important, but he wanted all Christians to realize that together we share in a common priesthood as the body of Christ: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 ESV).
We are all called to be priests in service to God in our own stations in life, in our families, professionally, and as volunteers, and God can and does use us in many and various vocations in life. God has blessed us in many and different ways, but as Peter reminds us in the verse quoted above, those blessings are given for a purpose: to give glory to God and help to our fellow humans, even in small ways. The Watchword for May from Proverbs 3:27 prods us to share good with “those to whom it is due.”
To whom is good due? Sometimes our daily tasks seem like a burden. Sometimes the help we offer others seems to go unappreciated. Sometimes we wonder what impact our lives actually make. Sometimes we wonder what we have to contribute. As thankless as our service can seem, good is due to everyone simply by virtue of the fact that God loves His creation and the people of the world. The events leading up to Easter remind us that God has not held anything back in showing his love to us. All around us we see great need in those who are lonely, afflicted, and in other types of distress, and such people are also the objects of God’s love.
“Do the little that you can.” A little can go a long way. While it is important to be wise and discerning in how we serve others (avoiding enabling rather than genuine helping), God gives us many opportunities to share His love. The people I remember most in my own life are those who treated me kindly in challenging times, and they most likely did not realize the effect they had on me.
As priests in service to God, we show forth the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection not usually by miracles or mighty acts of heroism, but rather by looking at those around us with the eyes of our Savior, with eyes of love and compassion. How is God currently working through you? How is God calling you to do the little that you can?
Pr. Tom Jacobson