Standing on the Shoulder of Nobodies
Down in the salt marshes of the southern states, a tiny crustacean with an oversized claw scurries into its home. Though its curious claw might evoke chuckles, the fiddler crab is no laughing matter. Noted as a keystone species, fiddler crabs have an immensely important role as decomposers of the wetlands. Furthermore, these little crustaceans continually aerate the soil with their burrows so that new grass and life can flourish in the salt marshes. Without the thousands of little crabs that scurry to safety at the sight of a human, an entire ecosystem would be in jeopardy.
Throughout our world, we discover numerous examples of such species—many of them unknown and honestly underwhelming. We teach our children about the dolphins and blue whales that fill the oceans, but how often do we marvel at the million plankton who provide vital food for its inhabitants? When did we last recognize the role that mixed grass plays in the ecosystem of the prairies or thanked God for the beetles that also help pollinate plants?
Our culture is prone to venerate the big, grand, and visible beyond the boundaries of the animal kingdom. We pay attention to the over-the-top influencers, the flashy personalities, or the incredible wisdom of the few. Even the church falls sway and gravitates toward the more charismatic pastors and speakers.
Yet our world moves and grows because of the many interconnected actions of the small, not merely the big. Isaac Newton once said that all his work existed because he stood on the shoulders of giants. But I look at the way God has made the world, and I wonder if, instead, we’re really all just standing on the backs of a bunch of nobodies.
Links in a Chain, Not Grains of Wheat
God designed humans to be interconnected. After first creating Adam in the garden, he held back his proclamation of goodness for the first time—man needed a helper (Gen. 2:18). So, God created Eve, in order that these two would fill God’s earth with people to live and work in relationship. Their lives were intertwined—and history bears this reality. It didn’t take long to see how the sins of mankind affected the other, as did their righteous decisions, triumphs, and joys. Charles Hodge once wrote, “We are not like the separate grains of wheat in a measure; but links in a complicated chain. All influence the destiny of each; and each influences the destiny of all” (Commentary on Romans, 190). We see this idea played out repeatedly throughout Israel’s history as the consequences of choices echoed down through generations. We can see it in our own families today, too.
Furthermore, God emphasizes the reality of an interconnected community within the church itself. The New Testament repeatedly compares the church to a body. As believers, we are baptized into one body (Gal. 3:27) and held together by the head of Christ (Col. 2:19). The many different members perform different, but vital jobs. Just as a body can’t work without its kidneys or pancreas, so the church relies upon all its parts. “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body” (1 Cor. 12:18–20).
Connected for a Purpose
Since it’s clear we were made as a community to work together, we must ask for what purpose do we toil? What do we collectively work toward?
Years ago, men believed they knew that answer. They constructed the tower of Babel to reach up to heaven and show their strength. They supported each other in an attempt to make a name for themselves. Ever since then, mankind has unified to do the same—exalt self, proclaim our own glory, and reach for our own immortality.
Yet the purpose of our interconnectedness isn’t self, but to extend the light of God and his kingdom throughout the world. This is why we’ve been called out of darkness into his glorious light (1 Pet. 2:9). God spreads his glory through the interconnected system of his children—the church: a diverse body of people whose small actions have bigger consequences than even they realize. Quite frankly, he chooses to work his mission through a chain of nobodies.
Just as a delicate ecosystem uses each small piece of the puzzle, so God uses each of us in our mission to exalt Christ. He doesn’t only work in the world through a small group of charismatic leaders, popular pastors, or learned academics. He accomplishes his mission through every single person who influences another.
I’ve seen this play out in multiple ways in my own life as a writer. Though my name might go out on the byline of articles, each piece of writing has had the input and wisdom of editors, friends, and family members who have silently helped extend the goodness of God to whomever will read it. Though I’ve not authored a book, I’ve had the privilege to pray for and offer help and ideas to friends who are taking on such an endeavor. I’ve seen firsthand how the words of a writer may reach hundreds with encouragement, but I know they would never have been possible without the help of so many unknown “nobodies” in the background.
This reality extends to every sphere of life. The church is on mission together, each believer propping one other up in the smallest, yet most important ways. Perhaps you can remember how a simple prayer from a man in your small group moved you enough to share it with another friend who needed it. Maybe you overheard the mom at a Sunday evening dinner use a phrase with her daughter that became a helpful phrase for discipling your own kids. Maybe the comfort you received from a brother-in-Christ enabled you to pass on that same comfort to another in their season of suffering.
These offhand moments may seem small, and they may not receive the kind of attention the world craves, nonetheless they offer a sturdy piece of support for another saint fulfilling the mission of Christ. They are the keystone acts of service that build up the kingdom of God.
Propping Up Our Brothers and Sisters
In his sovereignty, God links our toil, our ministry, and our work together to fulfill his work. We may not see the fruit of it all right now, but we can be sure that it does matter. God has composed our days in the exact way he means to. When you bring your pastor and his family before the throne of God, you are linking arms with them in the mission of Christ. You’re propping his foot as you hoist him up a little higher to fulfill the work God has called him to do. When you take time to teach your children to wonder and marvel at the Creator of their world, you’re taking your child’s hand and leading them toward the fulfillment of God’s kingdom on this earth.
We don’t know how God will use our small acts. Perhaps your child will go on to write popular children’s novels that teach of God’s goodness. Or maybe they will use their faith to encourage their college roommate and push him a little further in his love for God. Either option holds infinite worth.
It’s true, our hard work may still feel small and forgotten. To the world it may look inconsequential like those tiny fiddler crabs. But we know our lives are not singular. We know that God has linked our small acts of service to an immensely valuable mission. So, keep serving; keep giving of your time, your energy, and your toil in each of those tiny ways. Give that encouragement, speak those prayers, teach those children, deliver that meal. Allow your brothers and sisters the foothold to climb on top of your back. Push them closer to the mission we’re all a part of and see the beautiful sovereignty of the Lord in a whole bunch of nobodies.
Brianna Lambert is a wife and a mom to three, making their home in the cornfields of Indiana. She loves using writing to work out the truths God is teaching her each day. She is a staff writer with GCD and has contributed to various online publications, such as Christianity Today and The Gospel Coalition. You can find more of her writing at lookingtotheharvest.com.