My dad was born in1924. He was the son of poor southern farmers. But almost everyone in those days had little to no money. They were however rich in land. Such was my dad’s family.

His early life was spent raising cows, hogs, cotton, and vegetables. The days were long. There was always a chore that needed doing. Everyone pitched in. The family’s well-being depended on it.

A person became physically strong from manual labor. It turned out to be preparation for a larger job..not just for my dad but so many others.

December 7, 1941… Pearl Harbor. Every able-bodied man had to serve. It was a difficult and dangerous time.

Dad ended up in the Navy and served admirably. We spent our suppers during childhood listening to his stories of travel during the war. He never spoke of the fighting. He only repeated stories of friends he made or the fellas from back home he ran into. We sat spellbound at the stories, wanting to walk where he had walked.

Whenever we gave him too much credit or elevated him to hero status he became so uncomfortable. He would always say, “I just filled a slot. I was just a cog in a wheel.”

This phrase became a picture for me of our place in Father God’s family.

Have you ever watched the round gears with their cogs connecting one another? One begins to turn and as it does, it moves the wheel next to it that moves the wheel next to it. Those cogs fit perfectly together. Maybe they operate a simple machine or maybe huge equi[ment. But if one little cog breaks, the whole thing shuts down.

The cog is seemingly insignificant alone, but without that one simple cog, the whole thing is broken.

Isn’t that the way it is with God’s family? We appear insignificant and maybe by ourselves we are. But as a part of the family of God, the family is incomplete…it won’t run as it should if we are not in it.

Few people remember Edward Kimball. But Kimball led DL Moody to Christ who led William Chapman to Christ who led Billy Sunday to Christ who led Mordecai Ham to Christ who Billy Graham heard at a tent revival and subsequently gave his life to Christ. What if one of those “cogs” had been missing?

My Dad’s simple comment has meant the world to me. We are here…walking our life’s road… We just never know how our words or actions affect Eternity. We may just be a “cog” on a wheel…but it is broken without us. God has a purpose for all of us.

Isn’t that just a marvel?