No Small Parts

Please read Leviticus 26-27 and Acts 23 if you're interested in reading through the Bible in a year. Tomorrow's readings will be Numbers 1-2 and Acts 24.

The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul...But when the son of Paul's sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul. -Acts 23:12-16 (NIV)


When I was a theater major at Ole Miss, on more than one occasion I heard the adage, "There are no small parts, only small actors." That statement can be interpreted any number of ways, I guess. But the way I always interpreted it is, "Your part may be small (and remember: my claim to fame at Ole Miss was being cast as a dancing tree in the show Into the Woods), but if your part wasn't important to the story, the playwright would have never created the part."

In this morning's assigned scripture reading, we are introduced to Paul's nephew. To my knowledge, it's the only time that Paul's nephew appears in scripture. The poor guy is not even identified by name. And yet, Paul's nephew plays an important role.

The story begins when a plot to kill Paul is devised. A group of 40+ men planned to ambush Paul on his way to appear before the religious leaders and murder him. Paul's nephew overhears the plan and informs his uncle Paul. Paul instructed his nephew to go to the Commander with this information. After learning of what Paul's nephew overheard, the Commander took steps to protect Paul and sent him to Caesarea.

Because of the role Paul's nephew played, Paul was able to escape death and continue the mission to which he had been called. The nephew didn't get a lot of air time or attention, but he played no small part in God's plan.

In the grand scheme of things, you may never consider yourself a major player in God's plan for the world. But your part is not small; it's vitally important in the unfolding of God's plan.

May God grant you the grace to realize that you're an important part of God's story today. If you were not important, God wouldn't have written you into the script of life. May you sense your important role in God's work and may you have a profound impact on the life of another.