The characteristics of a little postage stamp, if carefully observed, could give us some ideals to reach for in our Christian life.

Whether a stamp's monetary value is small or great; it serves the purpose for which it was intended.

When I was a child, a first-class letter could be sent anywhere in the United States for two cents. A postcard could be sent for one penny. Those stamps, even though they were very low in monetary value, were just as reliable as the high-priced stamps today in getting the mail to its destination.

We may think our talents are small, but by following the leadership of the Holy Spirit we may fulfill our purpose in serving the Lord.

Like the postage stamp, we should always be ready for service. The apostle Paul admonished, "Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (I Peter 3:15).

Paul was ready to preach the gospel (Rom. 1:15). Like him, we should be ready to witness and to serve with our hands as opportunity comes to us.

A postage stamp never argues about where it is to go. Jesus said, "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you" (John 20:21).

The words of the Great Commission to the church still ring out loud and clear. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations" (Matt. 28:19). Then Jesus said again, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

I would like to say with Isaiah, "Here am I; send me" (Isaiah 6:8). Our prayer should constantly be, "Lord, help us to be willing to go where you may send. Amen."

Song: I'll Go Where You want Me to Go

The postage stamp is very declarative as to what country it represents. We as Christians should be very open and declare that Jesus is our sovereign king, and that we represent our country, heaven. We are called Ambassadors for Christ (II Cor. 5:20).

An ambassador is a person who represents his country in a foreign land. Since heaven is our home, we should be good representatives for it while we are away from it.

Song: This World is not My Home

One great downfall in Christian service is that many do not stick to their task until it is finished. Perseverance is a wonderful trait. The Bible says, "Be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" ( I Cor. 15:58).

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "To reach the port of Heaven we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it. But we must sail, and not drift nor lie at anchor."

Victor Hugo said, "People do not lack strength; they lack will."

Song: Labor On

The postage stamp meekly stays when put down on a letter, card, or package. Jesus said, "Resist not evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matt. 5:39).

--Shakespeare

God never puts more on His children than they can bear. Each trial is sent to teach us a lesson. It has been well said, "When God is about to make preeminent us of a man, He puts him in the fire."

No words can express how much the world owes to sorrow. People who had gone through some personal sorrow wrote some of the most touching hymns. Many of the psalms were written after the writer had experienced great sorrow. Many of the epistles were written in a prison. Many great poets learned in suffering what they taught in verse. Pilgrims Progress came from the experiences lived in allegory by Bunyun in Bedford Jail.

Though we may stumble and fall, God is there to help. "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand" (Psalm 37:24) Praise the Lord.

Song: When the Morning Comes

Paul said he was "persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed" (II Cor. 4:9). We might say it another way: We are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed."

The Psalmist said, "He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" (Psalm 23:3,4).

An old Chinese proverb says, "A man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

Blind Helen Keller said, "Once I knew the depth where no hope was and darkness lay on the face of all things. Then love came and set my soul free. Once I fretted and beat myself against the wall that shut me in. My life was without a past or future, and death a consummation devoutly to be wished. But a little word from the finger of another fell into my hands that clutched an emptiness, and my heart leaped up with the rapture of living. I do not know the meaning of darkness, but I have learned the overcoming of it."

Song: Pick Up the Broken Pieces

The postage stamp is small, but it carries very important messages. I'm sure that you can recall many important messages that came to you via letter-a message from your husband-to-be; a message from your daughter, son, or grandchild when they were away from home; a message from a loved one in the hospital when you were too far away to visit them; the list could go on and on.

The great message that we can carry is God's message to the lost and dying. Though we may be small, we can carry God's great message to those who are lost, and to those who need encouragement in Christian service.

When God chose Gideon to deliver the Israelites who were oppressed by Midian, he felt that he could not do it. He said, "Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house" (Judges 6:15).

Before his anointing by Samuel, King Saul said, "Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Wherefore then speakest thou so to me?"

Paul said, "I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" ( I Cor. 15:9).

Jesus said, "He that is least among you all, the same shall be great" (Luke 9:48).

So, because we feel small in God's sight is no reason not to carry His great message.

Songs: We've a Story to Tell to the Nations

Christ for the Whole Wide World