“Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically.”

Romans 12:11 (NLT)

Sometimes the things we are called to do are not exciting. In fact, they can be quite mundane at times. Most of us want to do a big work for God; we want to make a difference in our sphere of influence. But we often don’t realize that the “little” things that are required of us are just as important as the “big” things.

God calls us to be faithful in ALL we do. God has called women to a variety of occupations ranging from homemaker to factory worker to doctor. No matter where you fit into this world, whether you are a seamstress or a rocket scientist, you will be faced with being responsible for completing less than desirable tasks at some point in time. Your work can even be monotonous. We need to attend to those tasks with enthusiasm and quality work, because in all we do we represent God. Whatever the work He gives us, we should do it to the best of our ability.

A woman who lived this verse was Susannah Spurgeon. While she will always be remembered as the faithful wife and encourager of the great preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, she deserves recognition in her own right by the Christian Church in connection with her fund for supplying theological books to clergymen and ministers too poor to buy them. The importance of this Christian work should not be overlooked or underestimated. At the time in which Mrs. Spurgeon lived, many ministers living in England were given such a poor wage that they could barely feed their families, let alone buy books to help them grow spiritually and improve their ministries. In fact, when the Book Fund was started it was discovered that many ministers had not been able to buy a new book for ten years!

Susannah’s husband, Charles Spurgeon, was a prolific writer and had most of his sermons published. In the summer of 1875 he completed the first volume of “Lectures to my Students” and he gave his wife a proof copy of the book, asking for her opinion. She told her husband that she wished she could place that volume in the hands of every minister in England . To that her husband replied, “Then why not do so: how much will you give?”

Susannah was not prepared for his question, but it challenged her to see if she could spare the money from her housekeeping or personal account to fulfill her wish. At that time she remembered some money that she had put away whenever she had some extra. She went to her room and got the money and when it was counted she realized that she had enough money to pay for one hundred copies of the work. It was in that instant that the Book Fund was born.

Once the word of the Book Fund was out, many applications were made to Susannah by ministers desiring new books to increase their knowledge and improve their ministries. While it might not seem like an important work, it truly affected the quality of Biblical teaching in nineteenth century England.

If greatness is determined by the amount of good a person does in the world, if it is only another name for unselfish devotion in the service of others, then Susannah Spurgeon go down in history as one of the greatest women of her time.

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To read more about Susannah Spurgeon visit: http://www.historyswomen.com/SusannahSpurgeon.html