When You Think You're Not Doing Enough for God

I have a new Bible hero. His name was Cornelius.

Cornelius lived in a pagan city, a Roman soldier in charge of one hundred other soldiers.

And this is all we know about his personal life.

But we’re told something about him that’s even more significant.

This Gentile, living during the early days of the church, living in a pagan city and leading one hundred pagan soldiers, was devout and feared God with his entire household.

“He gave alms generously to the people and prayed to God always.” (Acts 10:2)

And that’s what he was known for.

God chose Cornelius to be a tool through which the church would learn something very important about His dealings with the Gentiles (see Acts 10 and 11).

But when God sent an angel to Cornelius to inform him of what He was about to do, the angel told him something I haven’t been able to shake out of my mind:

“Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.” (Acts 10:4)

That’s it.

His prayers and his acts of generosity were noticed and remembered by the God who takes great value in these things and remembers them more than we think.

Not all of us will be called to do the “great” things—the big and “memorable” things, by this world’s standard.

We’re all called to the “little” things—those more valuable things, like prayer and kindness, that come up to God as a memorial.

When you think you’re not doing enough for God, think of the value God places on little things.

In His hands, little is so much more.

“And they said to Him, We have here only five loaves and two fish.

He said, Bring them to Me.” (Matthew 14:17,18)