Where's the Piccolo?

A guest conductor was leading a symphony orchestra in rehearsal the night before a big concert. As the music swelled to a heart-stopping crescendo, the conductor suddenly held up a hand and shouted, “Stop!”  

The musicians silenced their instruments and stared at the red-faced conductor. “Where’s the piccolo?” he shouted. 

One frightened piccolo player held up a shaky hand. “Sorry sir,” he mumbled. “I didn’t think you’d notice. All these other instruments…” 

“Notice?” The conductor’s stern gaze swept the group. “When this piece calls for a piccolo, I want to hear a piccolo.”

A symphony requires the participation of every musician. A piccolo is a tiny instrument, yet to the ears of the conductor, its music was irreplaceable. Your part in God’s work may seem insignificant to you, but to the ears of your Conductor, you are irreplaceable. No one else can create the music you bring to the ears of your Heavenly Father. He gave you a sound that can perfectly harmonize with the sounds of His other children.

When He calls for you, He wants to hear you playing.

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Stars of Christmas--Shepherds

A dozen eyes blinked at the night sky long after it had grown silent. Had they really seen that? Heard that? Angles? They pulled their gaze from the sky to stare at each other. Nothing had changed. They were still dirty, rough, uneducated. They were still just shepherds. 

But the angel’s words echoed in their hearts: “Unto you is born this day…” “Unto you…” Unto us? Everyone knew the stories about a Messiah coming one day, but wouldn't he come to the palace? Wouldn't Herod and the leaders be the first to know?  Unto us a child is born? Something stirred within the shepherds' hearts. God had come, the angels said. God was here and He had told them first.

How fast they must have run to see if this was true. It was. God was here, in the flesh, in a cow trough with a couple of peasants to guard him. The Messiah had come and it was nothing like they had imagined it would be. It was better. He had come for them, for dirty, rough, uneducated shepherds. They could do nothing but fall to their knees and worship this God-Who-Came-To-Earth. 

And in bowing, they changed. They bowed before Him as unworthy shepherds, but rose from their knees with a new identity. They were no longer “just shepherds;” they were God’s messengers. They had been chosen by Him to spread the good news, and they would never be the same.

Have you heard the angels’ words: “Unto you a child is born?” Have you bowed to worship him? We bow before Him as unworthy—just a mom, just a truck driver, just a lawyer—but we rise to our feet changed. We are given a new identity: God’s messengers. Have you recognized that He came for you? The invitation to come and see still stands. When we bow before Him, we are never the same.

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Test Time!

Semester Quiz

Name _______________ Date _______________


In each pairing below, choose the person who is most significant. (Don't give your Sunday School answer. Be honest.)

• The CEO of a Fortune 500 company, who gives millions to charity.


• The owner of Fred and Bubba's Neighborhood Tavern who gambles away his meager profits.

• A young, healthy mother of four, raising her sister's orphan child.


• A homeless drunk.

• A United States Senator.


• The school janitor.

• The Chief of Police.


• A prisoner.

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In the above statements, it's easy to tell which person has more significance in life. Regardless of our ethical insistence that all people are equally valuable, the truth is, we do consider those who contribute to the good of society more worthwhile than those with apparently little to offer.
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What about in the spiritual realm?
Which of these Christians has more significance in God's kingdom?
________________________________________________________

• A missionary with only 1 convert after 20 years on the field.


• The pastor of a mega church, baptising 100 per week.

• The minority pastor of an inner-city church.


• The wiggly little boy interrupting the teacher during Sunday School.

• A stay-at-home mother rocking a colicky baby.


• Beth Moore.

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If you've spent any time learning about God's value-system, you probably gave the magnanimous answer that they were all equally significant.
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But that's not what you really think.

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Our mouths give a lot of answers our hearts don't believe. We've been programmed to parrot correct teachings, yet we know when we say it we are not speaking the truth.
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The truth is, we try to use the same standards in the kingdom of God that we use to determine earthly significance. Our bottom line is: How impressive are your results? If you've got a lot to show for your efforts, you are more important than someone who has nothing to show for them.
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The truth is, when we are working for God, we are not responsible for the outcome.
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Our significance comes from our level of obedience,

not the results of that obedience.

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God calls us each to a different place, different goals, different service. We are uniquely designed to fit into God's masterpiece just the way he wants us to fit. When we work in harmony with His plan, we are fulfilling His ultimate purpose in creating us. When we resist his plan and try to earn significance our way, we lose significance in God's kingdom because we are out of sync with the big picture.
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If the missionary with one convert has stayed within God's perfect will for His life, His reward in Heaven is equal or greater than the mega-church star who may or may not be doing his job for the glory of God.
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When is the last time you evaluated your own significance on the quality of your obedience rather than the quantity of your output?
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To judge significance based on any other system is like trying to use Monopoly money at Wal-Mart. No good. Doesn't work.
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So before you say yes to that project because you can't say no, before you race out the door to "help" someone who needs to be helping himself, before you take on more than you should in your frantic effort to feel important, ask yourself: Upon whose standard am I judging my worth, God's or the world's?
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Do exactly what God tells you to do--and not a thing more.
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You cannot be any more significant than that.
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