"Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed. (NASB)"
Or, in a little bit easier translation:
" In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.(NIV)"
That's really encouraging, isn't it?
Good deeds are obvious, and even the good deeds we do that are not so obvious will not be hidden forever.
The problem with me though, is that I'll read this, and in about 12 seconds I'll get up off my bed and walk down the hall. When I do so, I'll notice that someone missed the trashcan in the bathroom, and their wet paper towel will be balled up on the floor. Now, we have a lady who comes every other day to clean, but on a hall of 70 girls, that isn't enough. It's necessary that us girls pick up after ourselves.
I don't like germs. It grosses me out to pick up dirty things off the floor. For the most part, I keep this part of myself pretty decently hidden. When I can't, I make a joke out of it. This doesn't mean I'm unwilling to pick up things, but it is a bit harder for me in some moments than it may be for another person.
So, when I walk down the hall, the dirty, wet paper towel will be unappealing to pick up because, not only have I got somewhere else to be, but... it's gross! I don't want to do it and that's just the honest truth! I don't want to pick it up, realize there is a booger or something else on it, have to wash my hands either way (probably a couple times if there was a booger... nasty...), and then go on. I really just don't want to!
And that's where this verse becomes something I really do need to hear.
It isn't just an encouraging verse to me, it's a verse that calls for my selfishness to bury its ugly little head and the heart of my Jesus to come forward through my actions.
Sometimes, I get really tired of doing good things. I'm not saying I'm a saint or anything like that! But do you ever have those days where you're just drained? You don't want to hug someone, you don't want to talk, you don't want to invite the guy sitting by himself to join you at your table because you don't want to have to spend the whole meal putting energy into getting to know another person.
There are days where I don't want to leave my dorm, because I know there will be something "good" outside I can do, and honestly... I just don't feel like doing it!
Now please know, I'm not saying we can never have times to rest. There is a reason God gave us a day of rest-- we need it!
What I'm saying is that I know for me there are moments I know I need to do the right thing, and I just don't feel like it. Along with those moments, I also have a tendency to wonder if anything I do even matters anyway! If it really matters whether or not that person sits alone. I don't feel like doing anything right, I just want to be left alone, because no matter what I do, it isn't going to make a real difference!
For those days, this verse is an encouragement. It says, "Well actually, it does matter. It matters so much that God is going to make everything you do-- even the good things done in secret-- known! And if it matters to God... it matters."
So, if you're having one of those days where you don't feel like reaching out a friendly hand, or picking up someone else's gross paper towel, just know that it does matter! It's important. Even those little gestures no one may remember, God remembers them. He knows. And one day, when it's all said and done, you will be rewarded for the many tiny things you didn't think anyone noticed.
Nothing is for nothing.
