The following sermon was originally preached from the pulpit in Abbotsford BC on May 27, 1957.
Unknown Yet Well Known
“But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God… as unknown and yet well known” (2 Corinthians 6:4 and 9).
One of the most detrimental things in the world is the feeling that one does not matter, that one does not count, that one is insignificant. That one is a nobody.
We are human, we have a deep desire for love, for recognition, for being somebody. When we feel rejected, the spring leaves the step, the smile leaves the face, and more often than not health leaves the body. All because we need to be loved, to the be noticed, to be approved.
The human need for love is greater than the need for food, or the high standard of living. Love is one of the greatest and best medicines for the insecure child, the despondent husband, the frustrated wife.
We need to be loved and valued and recognized. For the delinquent it is his way of seeking and finding recognition. For the ambitions social climber it is his way.
The need for love is the gift of God. He has placed the desire in our hearts. We cannot rest until we find our own rest in him.
An investigator in one of the large American universities showed that ninety per cent of a large sampling of university students had the affliction of the feeling of insignificance. It was the feeling that they did not matter, that nobody cared very much, that they were not needed, that they were not loved.
That sense of insignificance can bring about mediocre behaviour. When one has the feeling that he is nobody it can easily allow one to do most anything. The source of insignificance might give him a sense of relief: “I’m a nobody, it does not matter what I do.”
We need a healthy sense of our significance if we are to make the best of our gifts for our sake and the sake of others. Remembering the parable of the Talents (as Jesus said it, there was one who hid it for fear).
Chesteron said, “The crimes of the Devil who thinks himself of immeasurable value are as nothing of the crimes of the Devil who thinks himself of no value.”
If we are wrestling the demon who tries to convince us that we are of no value, what is to be our strategy? Make no mistake about it: the demon is there using its wiles whether you are young, middle aged or in old age.
The apostle Paul puts us face to face with the problem. You are there. He is placing himself before the Corinthians stating: “But in all things approving ourselves as they ministers of God…. as unknown yet well known. Even when we are nobodies, yet in the public eye.”
We have a great foe, the sense of insignificance. The sense that what you are and what you do mean very little or nothing. The sense that how you live and what you are is no one’s business but your own. This great foe is the foe of our usefulness and our joy.
We cannot overcome this enemy of life of ourselves. We need help. The Psalmist cried: “I will lift my eyes unto the hills. From where cometh my help? My help cometh from the Lord.”
Christ helps us by revealing that God stands watch over all people. “Are not five sparrows sold for a farthing? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Fear not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:7).
In spite of my weakness, the thorn in the flesh, the sinning, being unknown in the eyes of the world, Paul considers: “He loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) Is not that a wonderful reminder? “God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
The tragedy of many a great cause for which men are willing to give their best and their all is that it is impersonal. It demands of man to lose his significance for the cause of his nation or his party or his company.
You do not count, says the party, only the cause counts. Because you do not count it doesn’t matter what atrocities you commit. You are free of guilt as long as you do it in the name of and for the party.
Inquisitions, Selling slaves, Siberian camps, stocks, torture chambers, brain washings, burnings at the stake, gas chambers. They are legitimate in the name of the cause for you are insignificant and your fellow men are insignificant.
The apostle Paul acknowledged that he was indeed significant, that every human being is significant. For Christ died for us.
The lonely, dusty roads on which Jesus traveled might have been deserted, but God the Father was with him. In the Garden of Gethsemane his disciples left him alone, they fell asleep, but he was not alone. On the cross. He cried, “Father!”
Often in the church people are disturbed by the minister of the gospel challenging the members of the congregation who are also the ministers of God. It causes offence when they are challenged to give themselves to Christ. We are always trying to hold something back. We are quite happy to see someone accept the challenge to go into full time service in the church, we are happy to see someone accept the challenge of the foreign mission field. But have we recognized our own significance?
When the apostle Paul acknowledged his significance, he was blinded. He could see nothing but the flaming light of the risen Christ. He could see nothing because of the light. He had to be led. God in Christ saved him and saved him from a low opinion of himself.
We set up certain ideals for human beings like the Pharisees of 2000 years ago. It can make one arrogant or insignificant, but before Christ both pass away.
We become somebody in the society of Jesus Christ. He saves us from our sins which like chains pull us down. He saves us and calls to us, “Follow me.”
He calls us to serve by linking our arms with others. He saves us to serve. He saves us in order that we become his ministers. As his ministers should his challenge offend us? We must ask how Jesus instructed his servants to serve.
First, he freed them from their sins. Forget what you were when you forget me. Forget these things that drag you down and make your burden unbearable. I have wiped out as a thick cloud thy transgression. You were in bondage, now you are free. To remain free, “Follow thou me.” Be not anxious for your life.
Second. He frees them from anxiety, from worry in all its forms. Can you save your business by worry or anxiety? Can you by anxiety add to your stature? Commit your life into the hand of God with free abandon. “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”
Remember the life of David or of Moses, or Abraham. Think of the apostles and the Christian martyrs.
As we read both the Old and New Testaments we are brought face to face with the Almighty God, with all that he requires of man. In the Old Testament we are shown that man is God’s steward here on earth. He is here to carry forth God’s will. As a steward he is to give God a tithe of all he possesses, that tenth is to God’s glory.
But there is a new covenant in Christ. Those who would follow Christ are challenged more: seek yet the kingdom of God.
And it is in this kingdom that we come to understand that we are loved, where we recognize we have significance and where we are called to minister that same love.
Of all the leaders, Christ the Son of God tells the truth for he is the truth. With competence we must play our humble part.
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Reverend Kalman C. Doka (1917 – 2001)
Kalman Doka (bottom right) with wife Molly (top centre)
My grandfather, Kal, was born in Kipling, Saskatchewan, on April 17, 1917, the son of pioneers Kalman and Lydia Doka. He finished 12 years of school in Kipling and Regina and then attended Regina Normal School. He taught in rural Saskatchewan for six years. He then attended McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, graduating with a BA degree. This was followed by three years study at Knox College, Toronto, and he was ordained a minister of The Presbyterian Church in Canada in 1950.
During his ministry, he served churches in Welland, Brantford and Mt. Pleasant, Ontario; Kipling, Saskatchewan; Abbotsford, B.C.; and Calgary. It was in Abbotsford that he pastored a bilingual congregation and, being fluent in the Hungarian language, he was of great assistance to the refugees of the 1956 Hungarian revolution. He continued his ministry in Calgary and, after five years, accepted the position of superintendent of missions in the Synod of Alberta and Northern Saskatchewan. Seven years later, he served in this capacity in the Synod of British Columbia until his retirement in 1985. His work had taken him over thousands of miles by car and air. In 1972, Knox College honoured him by granting him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
White Rock had been his home since 1975. He was the husband of Molly, his devoted and loving wife of over 60 years; and father to sons David (Margaret) of Surrey, B.C.; Brian (Wendy) of South Surrey, B.C.; three daughters: Mary Ann (John) Rosberg of Kelowna, B.C.; Margaret (Nick) Kooman of Red Deer, Alberta; Elizabeth (Rob) Savage of Cochrane, Alberta; grandfather of 11 grandchildren and three great-grandsons; brother to Emil (Helen) Doka of Kipling, Saskatchewan; sister Dorothy (Bill) Fabian of Burlington, Ontario; and sister-in-law Dolores Doka of Kipling, Saskatchewan.
Kal is lovingly remembered for his deep faith and his concern and love for people.
With deep interest in my family’s cultural and spiritual heritage I am working to transcribe and preserve the sermons left to me by the family’s estate, confident the remembered testimony of his way of life can spur my family to good works, and encourage others who stop by the site.
You can read more of Kalman’s sermons here.
