Toiling in Obscurity

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Ephesians 4:16

In my opinion, the teams of the Montreal Canadiens dynasty of the mid-late 1970's were the best in NHL history. During the last of their four consecutive Stanley Cup championship seasons in 1978-79, the Habs boasted no fewer than 10 Hall-of-Famers, names such as: Yvon Cournoyer, Ken Dryden, Bob Gainey, Guy Lafleur, Guy Lapointe, Rod Langway, Jacques Lemaire, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard, and Steve Shutt. Among a cast of characters like that, the name Yvon Lambert doesn't stand out, but a close look at the stats of that season proves that he was certainly valuable.

Lambert isn't a Hall-of-Famer, and he never played in an All-Star game. He never finished higher than seventh team in All-Star balloting, and his career highs of 32 goals, 40 assists, and 67 points in a season don't stand out at all considering the era he played in. That's certainly not to say he didn't make contributions to his team, however. In fact, in 1978-79, his seven regular season game winning goals were tied for the second most on the team, with only Lafleur tallying more. In the playoffs, he would add one more game winner, and it would be one of the biggest goals of the season.

In the NHL semifinals that season, the Canadiens squared off against the Boston Bruins. The series went a full seven games, and in the last game, Montreal appeared to have their backs against the wall.  The Habs had held leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in the series only to see Boston tie the contest each time. In the ultimate game of the series, the Bruins took a 4-3 lead and held that with less than three minutes remaining. But Boston was whistled for a too many men on the ice penalty, and with just over one minute remaining, Lafleur notched the game-tying goal, sending the game to overtime. The next goal would win the game, the series, and send the team that scored it to the Finals.

The goal would come 9:33 into the first overtime, off of the stick of Lambert from a pass received from Mario Tremblay. Lambert's overtime winner is probably not as well remembered as Lafleur's goal to send the game to an extra session or Lemaire's goal that clinched the Cup, but without it, the Montreal four-peat would be a three-peat.

In the Christian life, there are a lot of Yvon Lambert's. There are a lot of laborers that go unnoticed because their ministry is obscure or they're overshadowed by others. That doesn't mean, though, that their ministries are unneeded or unnecessary. You might not see the janitor of your church in action, but if the job went undone, you would notice. People may not see the Sunday school teachers of young children at work, but their job is vital to the future of the church. It's likely that few notice the elderly home bound lady that sends out cards to encourage people, but her ministry has no doubt helped its recipients get through some dark days.

It all boils down to this: do you "serve" the Lord because you want attention and notice from others, or do you truly serve the Lord because you want to be a part of His work and bring others to Him. Do you have to be the star of the team, or are you willing to play an overshadowed role because it's what's best for the body?

God is keeping score. A lot of the spectacular goals that people score in life will one day be waved off at the Judgment Seat of Christ because they were done for selfish motives. I think we'll be surprised at some of the game winners that will be recognized. Only one life, 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last.