As an editor, when you’re doing your job well, no one notices you. Let a typo slip through, and Roger the engineer who took one English class in college will be sure to let you know. Rarely will someone come to you and say, “I read that e-mail you sent to clients today. The prose was crisp and cogent, and I couldn’t find a single error.”

As Christians, we have a similar path. To be sure, we are told to expect suffering. Jesus blesses those who are persecuted for righteousness’s sake and reviled on account of His name. There will be times when we stick out in the crowd because this world is not our home. But we are also told to “aspire to live quietly and to mind [our] own affairs.”  We are instructed to live peaceably with all, insofar as it depends on us.

So, we may be persecuted. But more often than not, we are simply overlooked. We don’t seek to draw attention to ourselves and celebrate our successes. We generally don’t receive accolades from unbelievers for faithfully following God. And yet, we know all too well that our work is not perfect. We see all the typos, flaccid verbs, and stilted language—even if others don’t. Thankfully, we have a perfect savior whose righteousness covers all of our sin and wipes our slate clean.