By David Faust
History is filled with great assists.
Wilt Chamberlain scored the most points ever in an NBA game on March 2, 1962, pouring in 100 points as his team, the Philadelphia Warriors, defeated the New York Knicks, 169-147. But Chamberlain wouldn’t have set that record if his unselfish teammates hadn’t passed him the ball over and over again.
New York Yankee pitcher Don Larsen tossed the only perfect game in World Series history on October 8, 1956, against the Brooklyn Dodgers. But Larsen wouldn’t have accomplished that feat without his steady-handed catcher, Yori Berra, and his center fielder Mickey Mantle, who hit a home run and made an acrobatic back-hand catch to preserve the no hitter.
Emmitt Smith of the Dallas Cowboys ran for more yards (18,355) and scored more rushing touchdowns (164) than any other running back in NFL history. But few can name the offensive linemen who blocked for him game after game.
Quietly Meeting Needs
The composer George F. Handel received a spinet (an early version of a harpsicord) from his aunt on his seventh birthday, and he learned about keyboard composition and performance from a little-known organist and choir director named F. W. Zachow. Artist Norman Rockwell got his start when a high school art teacher helped him obtain his first commissions as an illustrator for Boys Life magazine and eventually The Saturday Evening Post.
George Washington Carver, the botanist who developed more than 300 by-products from the peanut and sweet potato, was an orphaned child who began his education in a one-room schoolhouse. Did the teacher in that tiny school realize his student would become one of America’s best-known scientists?
Great assists often come from parents and other family members. John and Charles Wesley, famous for their preaching and hymn writing, were profoundly influenced by their mother Susanna. Although her family was quite large (she bore 19 children altogether, 10 of whom lived to adulthood), Susanna scheduled lots of personal time for prayer and Bible study, and she designated different nights of the week for one-on-one discussions with each child.
Alexander Graham Bell learned about the mechanics of sound from his grandfather, who was a speech tutor. Bell’s exhausting efforts to develop the telephone and other inventions were inspired by love for his hearing-impaired wife, Mabel, who encouraged him to persevere.
Great assists happen every day in classrooms, offices, factories, and hospitals as people quietly meet needs. Not everyone is a general who leads troops into battle. Many are like Clara Barton, who assisted behind the scenes as a nurse, a cook, and an advocate for the wounded.
Making a Difference Without Attracting Attention
The Bible not only tells about major characters like Moses, David, and Paul; it also mentions lesser-known believers who served in the background. Consider Andrew, who brought his brother, Simon Peter, to Jesus. Or Lois and Eunice, Timothy’s godly grandmother and mother who taught him the Scriptures when he was a child (2 Timothy 1:5). Or Onesiphorus, a friend who often refreshed the apostle Paul (2 Timothy 1:16-18).
I’m grateful for workers in today’s church who support missionaries, teach kids, change diapers in the nursery, cook and serve meals, set up tables and chairs, mow church lawns, and welcome guests in the parking lot. I thank God for sound technicians, bathroom scrubbers, small group leaders, and nursing home volunteers. They are changing lives in small but significant ways.
Jesus humbly washed his disciples’ feet, proving it’s possible to be a light without being in the limelight.
Who needs an assist from you this week?
David Faust serves as contributing editor of Christian Standard and senior associate minister with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of Honest Questions, Honest Answers.
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