“For God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you demonstrated for his name by serving the saints—and by continuing to serve them.” (Hebrews 6:10 CSB)
Devotional
When was the last time someone thanked you for the thing you do every week without being asked? Stacking chairs after the service. Driving your mom to her appointments. Dropping off a meal for the family with the new baby. Checking in on the friend who never seems to check in back.
Most of that kind of love goes unnoticed. Nobody posts about it. And if we’re honest, there are days we wonder whether it matters at all, or whether anyone, including God, has seen it.
The writer of Hebrews has just finished some of the most sobering words in the whole letter. Then the tone softens. He calls his readers “dearly loved friends” and tells them he’s confident of better things for them. Then comes this verse. God is not unjust. He will not forget. In other words, forgetting your quiet acts of love would be out of character for him. It would go against who he is.
There’s something else here. The love was shown “for his name,” and it was shown by serving people. Jesus said much the same thing: what we do for the least of his brothers and sisters, we do for him. So when we fold laundry for someone who can’t, or sit through one more hard conversation, God notices it up close. He receives it personally. And look at the last phrase: “by continuing to serve them.” Some of us are tired. This verse doesn’t scold us for that. It sees that we’re still showing up, and it calls that love.
Reflection
I like to say I serve without needing recognition, but some weeks the silence wears on me. I start keeping a quiet score of what I’ve given and what came back. It helps to remember that God has never once missed any of it. I don’t need the thank-you from people when the Father is the one keeping the record.
Prayer
Father, thank you for seeing the things no one else sees. Some of us are worn out from serving, and we need to know it hasn’t been wasted. Remind us that every small act of love done for your name matters to you. Give us strength to keep going, and joy in the doing.