Seems like a dream, it happened so long ago. After graduating from seminary and working as a counselor, I felt called to start a new church in a rural area in Kansas. I drafted my wife, Cindy, to help me in this endeavor.

In those days, Cindy's schedule included being the mother of an industrious toddler and a baby, working part-time at a preschool, and serving as a pastor's wife to boot. Every day she rinsed out dirty cloth diapers in the toilet because we couldn't afford disposables. She cleaned house, prepared meals, counseled women in distress, and worked diligently at her job.

And wondered if God was pleased with her life.

*One day after completing her daily duties, Cindy sighed and said, "Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing anything for God."

I felt the same way. Every weekday morning I got up at 4 a.m. to work at my part-time job at UPS to supplement my income. As pastor of a congregation of fifty people, my salary was $800 per month. I couldn't feed my family on that. I had to moonlight just so we could survive. We shopped at garage sales, clipped coupons and bought used furniture.

Our new church didn't own property or a building. Every Sunday for several years we had to set up metal folding chairs and equipment in a rented facility. Sometimes we weren't able to use the building, so we had to meet in a park. I secretly wondered if God approved of our seemingly ineffective ministry.

Was this why I had spent eight years in college and seminary? No one would have even though of calling us successful. This wasn't the picture of dynamic ministry that I had read about so often in Christian books and magazines. If the truth were known, we felt like failures. No one knew our names, much less cared what we were doing. We didn't have one shred of evidence that we were doing anything to please God.

That was over fifteen years ago. Our kids are grown now. No more dirty diapers to change. Cindy and I don't work part-time jobs anymore. The church I pastor no longer has to meet in a rented facility. Our congregation now owns twenty-two acres of property and a debt-free church building. I'm writing books and have been interviewed on numerous radio stations around the country.

Is God smiling yet?

That raises a critical question. What makes God smile? Many people have a preconceived idea about who is on God's most favored list. Here is the presumed pecking order, starting with those most likely to gain God's approval.

Presumed Hierarchy of God-Pleasers

Missionaries to Africa (Big smile)
All other missionaries
Pastors of large churches
Pastors of medium-sized churches (Medium smile)
Pastors of small churches
Elders and deacons
Sunday school teachers
Successful businesspeople (Small smile)
People who work at secular jobs
Night watchmen, custodians, stay-at-home mothers (No smile)

If the above scenario is true, less than one percent of the world's population is pleasing God. Come on now -- be honest. Don't you really believe that you must reach a certain level of success before God will start grinning? Don't you have a sneaking suspicion that God likes your work only if you do it inside a church building?

For some reason, most people believe that God smiles only if we are ministering in the church. Without a doubt, that is important. Every Christian should be involved in a local fellowship. But isn't raising a family on God's approval list? How about random acts of kindness? God's kingdom stretches beyond the church house doors. The fact is that every person on the above list has the same potential to please the God of heaven.

When Jesus was baptized, a voice from heaven said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased" (Matthew 3:17). At that time, Jesus was thirty years old, and He hadn't performed a miracle, preached a sermon, or taught a Sunday school class. He had spent most of His life sweeping sawdust in a carpenter's shop. Despite His lack of ministry experience, His Father was pleased with His life. Not just pleased -- well pleased.

How could His Father give His approval if Jesus hadn't performed any ministerial duties? Apparently ministry isn't the determining factor when it comes to pleasing God. Being famous isn't the key to making God happy, either. Jesus wasn't a celebrity when He was baptized. And He certainly wasn't popular when He hung on that cross.

What makes God smile? He smiles when His children cheerfully do what He says. It might be sweeping sawdust or preaching to multitudes. It might be changing diapers or working a part-time job to support your family. Or it might be writing books and being interviewed on the radio. It just depends on what God wants you to do at the time. King Solomon wrote, "I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves. He has made everything appropriate in its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:10-11).

When I look back on the early years of our ministry, I can say confidently that God was smiling. We were obedient to what He wanted us to do at that time. When Cindy changed dirty diapers, wiped runny noses, and spooned in Gerber's baby food, God gave her a thumbs-up. When I climbed out of bed at four o'clock in the morning to work a secular job to feed my family, He nodded with approval. And yes, He attended every one of our services when the congregation numbered only fifty. Jesus promised that He wouldn't miss it. "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst" (Matthew 18:20). It doesn't take a large crowd to grab His attention - just two or three people.

Which is more important: fifty churches with ten thousand members or ten thousand churches with fifty members? Each church has its place in God's kingdom. Nevertheless, many pastors of small churches feel terribly unimportant. It's easy to feel insignificant when the spotlight never shines on you. But we've got to stop thinking that God's smile is proportional to the brightness of the spotlights.

To prove that everyone is important to God, the apostle Paul wrote a letter to slaves, the lowest class in his society. If anyone thought that life was meaningless, it was a slave. Slaves weren't considered people, but property. In spite of opinions to the contrary, Paul informed slaves that their jobs were important and that their lives could count for eternity. He said, "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve" (Colossians 3:23-24).

Your life can also count for eternity. Don't you think that there's more to this life than bringing home a paycheck and finding things to do in your spare time? A hundred years from now the things that currently charm you will mean nothing. Could there be a divine purpose for your life beyond this earthly existence? I believe there is.

If you want to make sense of this life on earth, you must understand that God has a plan. Life is worth living because God has a blueprint for eternity. It began in eternity past, unfolds on planet earth, and will continue in entity future.

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