“For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their reward. But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:5,6
A search for Mega-churches on the internet reveals there are over 35 churches in the world that boast an average weekly attendance of more than 10,000 people. The largest of these is Yoida Full Gospel Church of Seoul, South Korea, who ministers to a congregation of 480,000 people on an average Sunday! That is nearly 10 times the seating of Rogers Centre in Toronto!
In a world that is impressed with grand statistics and with appearance, it is hard not to be impressed with such staggering numbers. But God is not impressed. He generally does not advance the gospel with explosive force, but rather, with gradual permeation. He calls on us to be faithful in the small matters of life. It is relatively easy to dress up and speak to thousands of people who hardly know you. The glamour and glitter of the spotlight is not hard to take. But real Christianity is not determined by what is done in the spotlight, but rather by what is done when few people see. Real Christianity is loving your husband unconditionally, even when he is difficult to love. Real Christianity happens when a brother who has been offended chooses to forgive instead of holding a grudge; or when a dear sister, living in a nursing home, spends hours in prayer alone before the throne of grace for fellow believers.
Kevin DeYoung says it this way: “The best churches are full of gospel-saturated people holding tenaciously to a vision of godly obedience and God’s glory, and pursuing that godliness and glory with relentless, often unnoticed, plodding consistency.” It is not easy to plod consistently for His glory in the trenches, in a world of flare and fame. In fact, that daily plodding will often be accompanied by tears – but make no mistake God sees, and Scripture records that “You have put my tears in your bottle”. He sees – and His reward is coming! May God enable us to continue plodding, one day at a time for His glory!