It's What You Do

Prolific author Chuck Swindoll has a knack for providing sobering thoughts in an encouraging way. I find this illustration in one of Swindoll’s books to be very useful. He entitled it, “It’s What You Do—Not When You Do It.”

• Ted Williams, at age 42, slammed a home run in his last official time at bat.
• Mickey Mantle, age 20, hit 23 home runs his first full year in the major leagues.
• Golda Meir was 71 when she became Prime Minister of Israel.
• William Pitt II was 24 when he became Prime minister of Great Britain.
• George Bernard Shaw was 94 when one of his plays was first produced.
• Mozart was just seven when his first composition was published.
• Now how about this? Benjamin Franklin was a newspaper columnist at 16 and a framer of the United States Constitution when he was 81.

I thought of this today when talking with a dear elderly sister in Christ. I first met her in my early days of ministry (my late teens). She was in her forties at that time, and I was just getting my feet wet in leading a local church. This sister has to be the hardest working Christian that I’ve ever met! She was an ardent, tireless supporter of our church ministry. I was introduced to scores of potential converts through her. I received several preaching opportunities in various churches as a direct result of her. My ministry program for that local church was championed by her. There was not a dollar that the ministry needed that she didn’t help to supply. There was not a ministry effort that she didn’t support. There was not a concern for my young family that she didn’t share. What a tremendous help the Lord gave us in my first church ministry!

Now in her eighties, this dear sister (a second “Mom” to me) is still extremely active. She still works in secular employment – sometimes putting in 40-plus working hours a week. The Lord, the church, and her family still take first priority in her life. She remains active in her local church. She still calls and encourages me to keep the faith! All of this brings me back to Swindoll’s note.

Here is a woman who has embodied good works over a lifetime. Here is a woman who is still about the Lord’s business. I encourage you to take on her spirit – regardless of where you are in life today. If you’re reading this blog entry, then it’s not too late to be about the Lord’s business. It’s what you do that’s important…regardless of when you start!

Let's Get Busy!

Doc B.