Faithful As A Second Fiddle

Serving – July-August 2021 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Faithful As A Second Fiddle

Get Mark and bring him ... for he is useful to me for ministry.” —2 Timothy 4:11NKJV

John Mark was what we might call “an average man.” Unlike Paul, he was not cast in the heroic frame. He was no genius. His personality was not forceful. He wasn’t a leader, but he made himself exceedingly useful as a helper. John Mark, or simply Mark, was content to play second fiddle, to take a secondary role; and by the grace of God he ultimately played it well.

Mark’s example, therefore, should make a special appeal to us who do not have a character like the apostle Paul, who are not geniuses and cannot hope to achieve outstanding success in any area of life. We are conscious that our abilities are mediocre, maybe ordinary. In short, we are not men or women with five talents; we have but our one talent, or at the most two (consider Mt. 25:14-29).

We must accept our God-given limitations and use thankfully the talents with which God has entrusted us. Every healthy-minded Christian, unless undergoing especially heavy trials, counts it a privilege to have life and all of its possibilities – including the opportunity of redeeming past mistakes and failures. We need to use what God has given to us.

Most of the work of the Lord is done by people of one or two talents. Real worth is never to be measured by, and real usefulness is never in proportion to, prominence. It is the spirit that counts most in the eyes of the Lord. Loyalty to Christ is the first thing. The lives of Luke, Silas, Barnabas and John Mark remind us that faithfulness to the will of God, in whatever sphere, is success!

—Adapted from “Simple Testimony And Marching Orders, March 1925

Oh, use me, Lord, use even me, Just as Thou wilt, and how, and where, Until Thy blessed face I see, Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share.—Author Unknown