GOD IS RECORDING!

 

             When I was reading Nehemiah chapter 3, which is about rebuilding the wall and the different gates of the wall by various people, I came across lot of names of builders building different gates. The entire chapter was just names as to who rebuilt which section of which gate and who repaired what and the different goldsmiths and the perfume-makers, etc. It was a bunch of names and I was so tempted to skip the chapter as usual, because reading a bunch of names that we can’t even pronounce is not fun. And we are not “particularly” gaining any “insight” or being “spiritually awakened” from reading names. After all, we all have skipped chapters in Exodus with names!

               I remember an Achen(priest) had once, in my Sunday School class, said that you shouldn’t skip any chapter of the Bible because of names but read it entirely because what if God asks you about it when you meet him, then you’ll be lying if you say otherwise.

              So, while reading the chapter 3, as fast as I could inorder to jump to the next, I realized that but God has documented everyone. He has taken note of every single individual who had contributed in the process of rebuilding the gates and the wall. He mentions them by name. He took the entire chapter 3 to just let us know about their contributions. God, even goes into the details of telling us as to which person is he talking about exactly and he is the son of whom and what did he do for rebuilding the gate like did he lay beams and put its door and bolts and bar in place(v3,6,13,14) or was he a goldsmith making repairs or a perfume-maker?

               We know that all scripture is God-breathed, God-inspired (2 timothy 3:16), so then God remembers everyone and everything they had done for rebuilding the wall and documented it and gave it to us to read. It had to be important and worth mentioning for God otherwise he wouldn’t have handed it to us. This chapter is so re-assuring to us believers. We know Colossians 3:23-24, mentions that whatever we do, we should do it with all our heart, not working for human masters but working as if for the Lord Christ himself and he will reward you. Sometimes our efforts go unseen or unnoticed or unknowledged by people around us, especially in church settings! But this chapter assures us that nothing goes unnoticed by God. Even if we arrange chairs or bench seats for others to sit during worship service or arrange or organize food or water for the members or clean or dust the veranda of the church or just organize the shoe rack so that others don’t trip and fall, these acts are surely being recorded by God.  

              Just like these men's effort to rebuild and repair the wall didn’t go unnoticed by God and they will be called by name and rewarded, we too will be rewarded for our small acts or gestures!