Yesterday when I was picking up the campers to ride the shuttle bus, I noticed that a grasshopper had joined us. Since it didn’t seem to want to leave, I let it ride with us and it sat on the control box next to me.
As we traveled together down the road, God spoke to me. He told me that I sometimes see myself as a grasshopper, and that I should remember the Israelites in Numbers 13. In that chapter, the twelve spies have just come back from checking out the Promise Land. Joshua and Caleb tell the people that it’s a wonderful land, and that they should immediately go in and take it. The other ten say, “Whoa, wait just a minute! There’s giants there. Big ones! Compared to them, we’re like grasshoppers!” (FSRV) This description scared the people so much that they were ready to overthrow Moses and return to Egypt. The Israelites forgot that God was with them, that he had promise the land to them, and that he would enable them to defeat these giants.
When God spoke to me, I realized that I do sometimes see myself as a grasshopper. There are times when I look at my positions as an instructional assistant, and as an assistant basketball coach. When I compare them to my former positions as an athletic director and head coach of two or three sports, and a Bible teacher, it doesn’t seem like much. Grasshopper. When I look at what I see others doing, and the impact they are having on people’s lives, what I am doing doesn’t seem like much. Grasshopper. When I go through the disappointment of not getting a job with potential of using my gifts and having a greater impact, it seems like I’ve been passed over. Grasshopper. It’s very easy to think you’re not all that when you get caught up in the comparison game.
As I thought about this (in between telling kids to stay in their seats), God said, “The people of Israel forgot that I was with them, that my strength would give defeat their enemies and give them the land. Remember that I am with you. I have called you to do what you are doing now, and it is important. Anything you do in my name is big, because I am in it.” You know, God’s right. (Duh!) Whatever we do in his name is big, because he is in it.
The Church is described in Scripture as the Body of Christ. In a body, every part is important. The older I get, the more I know this to be true. As different parts of my body begin to work less efficiently than when I was younger, other parts have to adjust. In the Body, each member has a part to play, each member is important. Even if you’re (like me) a little toe, you are still a valued part of the Body and what you do is important. The last time I checked, there were no grasshoppers in my body, neither are there grasshoppers in the Body. (how’s that for mixing metaphors)
When we arrived at camp, I took the grasshopper and let him go out the window. I’ve let the other “grasshopper” go as well.
