Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
Matthew 14:13 ESV

This morning I asked God who He would say my favorite Bible character is. When I paused to listen for the answer, I heard “Bob.” Yes, you read that correctly. I heard Bob. So of course I smiled to myself (while also thinking that maybe I had a little too much weird food yesterday), and then asked the question again. Yet again, I heard “Bob.” So then I asked why I was hearing Bob when I was asking for a Bible character. And this what I heard: my favorite Bible character is the one who followed God, who followed Jesus, and who faithfully served without being specifically named. My favorite Bible character is found in the masses. She’s the one who was part of the remnant in the Old Testament, the small group of people who never turned aside to idols. She is one of the ones in the crowds who followed Jesus wherever He went, even into the secluded places, which means she was one of the ones who sat down to eat a portion of those five loaves and two fish. She’s one of the thousands who chose to follow Jesus after hearing the sermon in Acts. She’s one of the ones who was in that home praying for Paul to be released from prison.

My favorite Bible character is the one who chose to follow Jesus right where she was. She wasn’t famous. She wasn’t popular. She was faithful. She served her God in everything, especially in the ordinary. She may have been largely unknown to man, but God saw her. And God loved her.

God sees each of us and loves each of us as well. He intimately knows each of us. Sure, we may never “make it” by the world’s standards. But when we choose to follow God right where we are, we will indeed see our name written in a book. The Book. The Book of Life that grants us entry into eternity with God. We don’t have to be popular to be faithful. We just need to serve. So I encourage you to serve the Lord faithfully today. Serve Him, seek Him, and follow Him knowing the One who sees in secret will one day reward in the open. You may not see your name in lights, but you’ll hear it. You’ll hear your Heavenly Father say, “ Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:23).