THE EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT OF AN ORDINARY LIFE

Ron Gray, Interim Site Lead Pastor

I enjoy a good story. One of my favorite stories comes from the book of Acts.

"There was a believer in Joppa named Tabitha (which in Greek is Dorcas). She was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor. She became ill and died. Her body was washed for burial and had been laid in an upstairs room. But the believers heard that Peter was nearby at Lydda, so they sent two men to beg him, “Please come as soon as possible!”

So Peter returned with them; and as soon as he arrived, they took him to the upstairs room. The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes that Dorcas had made for them."

(Acts 9:36-39)

I apologize for ending this passage at such an awkward point. I assure you that Peter prayed and Dorcas was raised to life. Admittedly that is an amazing event, but it’s not what caught my attention. What caught my attention was the extraordinary impact an ordinary life can have.

The only place that Dorcas appears in the Bible is in this short passage. From this account we see that she was an ordinary person who used her ordinary skills and abilities to help people in very simple and practical ways. She knew how to sew and she most likely enjoyed doing it. What makes the story remarkable (other than being raised from the dead) is the impact her simple acts of kindness had on others. Upon her death, the room was filled with widows who were weeping. Not only were they weeping, they all had with them evidence of how Dorcas had used her abilities to enrich their lives. There was extraordinary power in Darcas’ simple acts of kindness.

I’m quite sure that you have abilities and skills that you may think are rather common and mundane. Perhaps you have a hobby that gives you joy. Today, be reminded that those things are a gift from God to you. They are also a gift that God would love you to pass along to others.

I was recently told the story of a woman who enjoys vacuuming and straightening up the house. She is currently volunteering to do just that for someone who cannot do it for themselves. She is living out Paul’s advice given in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” A true modern day Dorcas who is having an impact on others.

What delights you? What do you enjoy doing? What are you good at? As a follower of Jesus you can do the things you love in his name for the benefit of others. As you do so, your seemingly ordinary life can have an extraordinary impact.

In God’s hands maybe our ordinary lives aren’t so ordinary after all!