Susanna and the Unknowns
So we've heard of Mary Magdalene who was healed by Jesus, Joanna who was well-off and still followed Jesus, and then Luke talks about Susanna and many other women who follow Jesus, nameless women.
Unknown and Unnamed Heroes
I wonder who Susanna was. We know nothing about her. She doesn't show up again in the Gospels although Mary and Joanna do. And I got to thinking about this, how Susanna was influential enough here to be mentioned even if we don't read of her again.
And I thought, how many people do we perhaps not even know of who have done great things for God and who God sees and God still acknowledges? We want to be the Mary Magdalenes whose names are immortalized and whose stories are immortalized - or the Pauls and the Peters and the Johns who are revered by the church. But I think most of us are going to be Susannas! We're going to be people whose names certainly appear in the Book of Life and who were committed to Jesus and did the work of Jesus, even if nobody really knows about it except the people whose lives we touched.
An Unnamed Act of Love for DL Moody
In fact it reminds me of a story of how D.L. Moody, the great evangelist, was a little boy, ragged and shoeless on the streets of Chicago. And one day he kind of found his way into a Sunday school (it must have been God's doing!) and being a nervous little boy he was so afraid that the other boys would laugh at him because he couldn't find the books in the Bible when they had to turn to different passages. The teacher observed his embarrassment and gently and silently took him in and kind of, without even making a big deal of it, found the places for him as she taught. This had a huge impact on him and it gave him confidence. And, long story short, he became one of the great Christian leaders of the day.
That little act of love from that teacher was huge in his life, and he ended up leading so many to Christ. Your nameless act can have great significance. And so whether it's just your name that's remembered somewhere, Susanna, or whether your name is not even remembered, that doesn't actually matter. What matters is that in the moment in your life today, and in the time that you are here, you use it to reach out for the name of Jesus. You use your life to bless others.
God Sees!
And you know what? Your name might not be written about much in the world, but I can promise you God sees and God will reward you, even if you don't get any rewards here on Earth.
Be a Susanna, or even a nameless disciple today who does what's good for the sake of doing what's good and for the glory of God, not for the recognition.
