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Jul 22, 2024 06:00am

You Matter

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The lights are dim. Anticipation rises. It’s a packed house.

Boom – the spotlight centers on the stage. One microphone. The curtain opens and the fans go wild. Out walks the king, who grabs the mic and starts pouring it out for the thousands of screaming fans, “you ain’t nothing but a hound dog…”

Elvis.

That’s all you have to say, right? Everyone knows who Elvis is. They know his songs, his moves, the lip curl, the hair, the style, the fame, the fortune, his love, the fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, and the pink Cadillac.

He is an icon.

But do you know the names Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller? Now, if you’re a true Elvis fan like my friend Lacy, you probably do. But for most of us, we’ve never heard their names. If we look at a record or CD, in fine print we would find these two names.

These are the two songwriters that wrote several of his greatest hits like “Hound Dog” and “Jailhouse Rock”.

Just because they aren’t well known and didn’t have the fame and spotlight that Elvis did, doesn’t make them less important.

Acts 1:21-26
“21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,
22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.
24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,
25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.
26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

There was a vacancy with the disciples whom Jesus had called to be closest to Him. Judas had betrayed the Lord and now his spot needed to be filled.

The requirements included that this man had to be a witness to all that Jesus had done from the beginning. He had to have witnessed the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. His eye-witness testimony would be vital in spreading the gospel, the good news of Jesus.

Two were selected and the men prayed over them to the Father. Who would God choose for this important role?

“and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.”

Matthias! He became the 12th disciple, now called apostles. He was among the greats like Peter and John and Matthew.

But no where else is Matthias mentioned in the Bible.

We can only imagine the work that he did to spread the gospel throughout Jerusalem, Samaria and the rest of the world. The missionary journeys he went on, the hardships he must have endured and the persecution he faced for speaking the truth.

But that’s all that’s recorded of this man. His name and that he was numbered among the 12.

It doesn’t make him or his work less important.

There are a great number of people who do work behind the scenes who, in the end, might receive recognition by name only.

They work in the nursery on Sunday mornings. They clean the church, scrubbing the bathrooms and vacuuming the sanctuary for the muddy boot prints left behind. They change the light bulbs, they make the calls to check on the elderly, and they run the sound or video for every service.

We can only imagine the work they do investing in others, taking time for one on one discipleship, helping with keeping the food pantry stocked, or mailing out cards to brighten someone’s day.

You may not see them in the spotlight, but that doesn’t make them less important.

Is this you?

We see you.

You matter.

The work you do is vital to Christ’s mission.

The Lord gifts us all in different ways. Thank you for using your gift to serve others in the way that you do. The body cannot function without all of its members working together.

Thank you.

Like Matthias, your name is numbered too. It’s among those in the Lamb’s Book of Life and on the lips of our Lord.

The most important place for our name to be known.