The Newspaper Route and God's Plan

In 1986, I was eleven years old. I asked my father for a new bicycle as the one I was riding was a rusted hand-me-down. To my surprise, he said, "I also want you to get a new bicycle." I thought to myself, "Great! We will go to the local bike shop this weekend and test-ride new BMX dirt bikes." But he continued, "Go and find a job so that you can buy a new bike." At first, I thought that's not what I wanted to hear, but then it steadily grew into excitement. "I will get a job and buy a bike with my own money!" I was quickly hired to deliver the local newspaper, and my first assignment was the newer housing development in my town. As I was settling in, my newspaper manager reassigned me to the senior citizens’ apartment called Brookside Gardens. Nobody wanted this location for whatever reason, but I dutifully accepted, thinking about a shiny new bike in my future. All of my customers were senior citizens, and, to my surprise, I grew close to them because some tipped generously and many gave me candy. (Picture a 70-pound Asian boy knocking on your door at night to collect the paper money. How could they resist giving me butterscotch candy?!) After a few weeks, not only did I earn enough money to buy the Mongoose BMX dirt bike, but God stretched me out of my comfort zone to befriend a generation of elderly people. Fast forward to 2009, after ten years of youth ministry in Korean American church contexts, God called me to pastor a predominantly aging congregation in La Mirada, California. The setting was completely different and yet, familiar. God had equipped and trained me for this twenty-three years ago! God is amazing! I felt at home and I grew to love that church. Hebrews 13:20-21 reads, "Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." This benediction reminds us that God equips us for the work we are called to do. How does God equip us? Sometimes, it is a small paper delivery route to a senior citizen community. Over and over again in the Bible, we see God using seemingly menial jobs to prepare men and women for God's work later. David defeated Goliath because he used a sling to ward off predators from his sheep. The first disciples became fishers of men after a career in catching fish. Here are two takeaways. First, God called us in Christ Jesus to do good works (Ephesians 2:10). How are you participating in God's work today? Second, should anyone say, "I do not have much to give", consider the possibility that God has ALREADY equipped you for good work. Your part is simply to say 'yes' and take the first step. Consider how Alcoholics Anonymous captures this principle when a sponsor who has journeyed to sobriety walks with another seeking sobriety. What if what we need isn’t a new gift but a willingness to trust that God who calls us has already equipped us? The call to serve is often right in front of us — in familiar places, through ordinary acts, and among people we might not have chosen. When we say “yes,” we often discover that God’s plan has been unfolding all along, even through something as simple as a newspaper route. Your Servant in Christ, Pastor Jason Ko