Hard Work over Time Brings Blessings: A former student gives us an offering

A lesson I have learned in missionary work that applies to other areas of life:

Little things done over time add up to great accomplishments.

We have been on the mission field long enough to experience the blessings of longevity, and these blessings are significant. Yesterday, a former student that I taught in our Puerto Rico Baptist College came to my house. He had returned to Columbia as a missionary to his own people, but was in the area representing a Bible College he is starting in Columbia, the country of his birth.  He heard I was recovering from prostate surgery and wanted to encourage me. He surprised me by giving me a handshake and putting a $100 check in my hand!

I imagine the early church in Jerusalem felt the same way when they were in a famine and the missionaries came home, bringing an offering to those who in the past had been supporting them. That feeling is one of surprise, humility and joy. 

How was it possible to experience this blessing? By every week, witnessing, teaching, training and never stopping until a man was won to Christ, who in turn could begin a work for Christ and bring it to the point to where they could contribute in turn to the work of missions and help a fellow missionary.

We just had to keep at it long enough and be around for the moment when the work reached a point of maturity that made these blessing possible. I am so thankful that the Lord has given us the priveledge of remaining on the field long enough to see the fruit mature and be able to participate in the harvest of it and to taste its sweetness.

Not just missionaries can benefit from these kinds of blessings. Consider this:

The average American watched 5.11 hours in 2012.

(http://www.statisticbrain.com/television-watching-statistics/)

What if you took just 2 hours a day and did something else, consistently and over time and never stopped?

With just two hours a day, or 14 hours a week of that TV time invested on a consistent basis, someone could take a Karate class, take flying lessons, learn a musical instrument, go to church and still have time left over. At the end of a couple of years you could have a black belt in Karate, have a pilot's license, play the guitar and still have the 14 hour a week to invest in other things.

Imagine if you just spent just 15-30 min a day on a task, like memorizing Bible verses, learning foreign language vocabulary, preparing to pass an exam that would get you a license. Now imagine that you never stopped that practice and kept it alive every day for a life time. Where would you be then, what progress could you have made?

It's not to late to start. Start each day in reading the Bible and prayer and use your time, however little it is, wisely, daily and consistently.

A little, over a long time, will go a long way if you just never stop. Blessings come to those who never give up doing what God wants them to do. We know it's true, because it happened to us.