With those words we begin one of the most iconic American novels, Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

The novel about an unhinged whaling captain and his irrational quest for revenge from a white whale is so iconic that, though many people have never read an unabridged version of the novel, they could nonetheless give a fairly accurate synopsis of its plot. Moby Dick has been re-imagined in scores of movies, TV shows, comic books, and any other kind of medium you could mention. It has been called “the great american novel” by more than one source and has spurred the imagination of readers toward the high seas for generations.

A couple of months ago my family and I were at one of our usual hangouts, the public library. We go there at least twice a week or more and have for several years.

On this occasion an interesting-looking book caught my eye. It was In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick. In his book, Philbrick masterfully tells the historical account of the sinking of the Nantucket whaleship Essex in 1820. What was a national headline at the time of its sinking was an unknown story to me and probably to many of you reading this article. If you have any interest in historical books, whaling, Nantucket, or life at sea during the first part of the 19th century, you should find a copy and read it. (Even if you don’t have any interests in these things it is a great book.)

I don’t have time to give a full description of In the Heart of the Sea, but it is the true story of a whale who attacked and sunk a whaling ship thousands of miles from the closest shore. At one point in the book Philbrick mentions that this account was partially used by Melville as inspiration for his most well-known work, Moby Dick.

I found Philbrick’s book so interesting that I decided I should read Moby Dick for myself. I found a copy at a resale shop and am about a third of the way through the novel at the time of this writing (I’m sorry to say it sat on my shelf for a while before I started it).

Looking back today, it would make sense for us if Moby Dick were a smash hit when it was first published in 1851. We would probably expect Herman Melville to be regarded as one of the great novelists of his age during his lifetime. Unfortunately for Melville, neither of these expectations could be further from the truth.

Although Melville had written some semi-popular and financially successful books before Moby Dick, the novel many consider his greatest work was a failure when it was first published. Reviewers panned the book as boring and lifeless. The book about Captain Ahab and his great white nemesis was a financial failure and pretty well ended Melville’s career as a novelist. He did write a couple more novels but in 1863 he took a position as a US Customs Inspector and refocused his creative energies as a poet, never again writing a novel. When Melville died in 1891, Moby Dick was out of print and had been for several years.

Around the centennial of his birth in 1919, Melville was “rediscovered” by critics and fans alike. Since that time Moby Dick has entered the American consciousness in the same vein as apple pie and the Stars and Stripes. It is so deeply ingrained in our culture most of us can’t remember how we first learned the book’s plot, we just seem to know it instinctively.

As I often do when reading a book, I became interested in the author of Moby Dick. It didn’t take much research to find the information I’ve given here about Melville’s decline as an author or the revival of his work nearly 30 years after his death. As I thought about Melville, a man who was unrecognized in his own lifetime but is heralded today, I considered the life and work of the followers of Jesus Christ.

The work the Christian is called to is an eternal work. The consequences of such a work are just that, eternal. They are the “…fruit that should remain…” as talked about in the Farewell Discourse of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 15. If the consequences of our work is eternal, the reward of our work is eternal as well!

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe the Lord blesses His children during our earthly lives, but the notion that He will give us “health, wealth, and prosperity” is an idea totally unfound in any of the scriptures. Just reading about the Apostles’ lives and the persecution of the early church should teach us that the prosperity gospel preached today was totally alien to these stalwart believers. The Bible teaches us that our greatest rewards will be found in the next life, not this one.

These eternal rewards are exactly what Paul was describing to his young protege Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:8. “ Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

I don’t know who may be reading this but perhaps it seems like sometimes your work for the Lord is in vain. No one notices, no one cares, or you don’t seem to be making a difference. But the Lord has promised He would notice. He cares. You have no idea what difference you are making. Only eternity will tell. The impact you have made for the Lord will only be known as you stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Herman Melville gets his honor today, over 200 years after his birth. There are streets, squares, and even societies named after him. In 1984 the United States Postal Service issued a stamp in his honor. There is even an extinct species of whale named after him! The author who died in relative obscurity lives in the minds of book lovers everywhere.

There may never be any streets dedicated in your honor. Two hundred years after your birth your name will likely be forgotten here on earth. But if you are faithful to the Lord, and to the work He has called you to, you’ll receive a much greater reward than all of these. You’ll get to cast your crowns at the Saviour’s feet and hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Matthew 25:21