Car Races

“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” – Matthew 25:21

My husband enjoys car races. Occasionally I watch them with him, somewhat confused on just what is so entertaining about a bunch of toy-like cars buzzing around a track for a couple of hours. As he explains the strategy, however, I find there are some fascinating elements to it.

One of the more remarkable details I have learned is that each car must make a pit stop right in the middle of a race. While his opponents are whipping by at 150 miles per hour and faster, a driver will pull over into the pit lane for fuel and new tires. Precious time is lost for sure, but every competitor must stop in order for his car to be able to finish the race.

In the advanced divisions, there are typically sixteen team members working the pit stop. The time it takes to refuel a thirty-gallon tank and replace all four tires can be as low as seven seconds! Because the top finishers are usually only seconds apart, the winner is often determined by who has the fastest pit stops. Therefore, the demand rests not only on the driver, but on the team servicing the car as well.

Have you ever felt that your service in God's work is small or that what you have to give is not enough? Perhaps you work behind the scenes and what God has asked of you seems little. We must remember that if God has called us to do something, it is vital that we do it, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Like the teammates at a pit stop, our behind-the-scenes work in the Gospel is crucial for success. A race car driver will lose if his team is not ready to do its job quickly and correctly, and likewise, the church will not move forward without workers doing the necessary unseen work.

The most valuable service that can be done for God is often unnoticed by others—prayer. Everyone is called for this secret service, and no one will endure to the end of the race without it.

Unlike the car race, the prize for working in the Gospel is eternal and will be rewarded to all who have been faithful in what God has called them to do. Someday, the faithful ones will hear those moving words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”