Ministry is tiring. It takes a lot of energy and effort. It's often overwhelming. So why keep doing it? What can motivate us to keep doing it? Paul's answer is to make sure that his ministry was about proclaiming Christ, which meant admonishing people and teaching people (Col 1:28). He did this in order to achieve a very specific goal - people becoming "mature in Christ." This is what ultimately drove Paul and his associates, to be in people's lives in such a way so that they become fully developed Christians.
A healthy church then is one that will warn and teach people so that they don't stay as little bitty baby Christians but become fully grown, mature Christians. This is what Christian ministry must always be about. If ministry is just us doing stuff for the sake of doing stuff, our efforts will eventually be overrun by our tiredness or our frustrations or our laziness,or our selfishness.
However, if our ministry is about this message - "Christ in you" - and this goal - "complete in Christ" - we will find the kind of ministry that is worth struggling for and even dying for. And we can be assured that we won't be struggling alone; God himself gives his energy and power to anyone who is involved in this kind of work (Col 1:29).
So what are your thoughts about this passage? Can you say that you became more mature in Christ over this past year? What evidence have you seen of this in your life? How are you encouraging others you know to become mature in Christ?
3 comments:
You are right, it is tiring at times. Often, when I have had a particularly challenging week in ministry (like this past week) my flesh wants to give up. I can feel that I have grown "weary in doing good" Gal. 6:9
However, it is not any obligation, or guilt that keeps me going. It is not even the sense of accomplishment at seeing results. It's a good thing, because there are times that there does not appear to be any results. There are really two main things that keep me going. The first is that I am so thankful to God for the incredible love and grace He continually pours into my life. It is hard to even describe what it is like to have Him working through me. It is what Jesus promised in John 10:10 (life more abundantly) and John 7:38 (river of living water proceeding from your inermost being).
The second reason I keep going is that it contributes to my own growth. As I apply the things He has taught me, and minister to others, there is growth in me that draws me closer to Him. That alone is worth going on for.
I can honestly say that I have become more mature in Christ this past year. I have more to be thankful for. I have shared my faith more often. I have gotten deeper into the mess of other people's lives. I have taught others (II Tim. 2:1,2).
All praise and honor and glory to God!
Life is tiring. It takes a lot of energy and effort. As you say, "God himself gives his energy and power" whether doing ministry directly or indirectly. This applies to all of life, not just ministry efforts in/through a local church. Consider my post I, Yet Not I where I speak to the complex identity of believers. If we really have a grip on the fact that we carry Christ in us wherever we are, then the energy to live for Christ would be realized more.
At every turn where I fail or fail others (whether in ministry or in life), it is because I forgot that Christ is present in me. Conversely, at every turn where I succeed it is because I remembered that Christ is present in me to live out his life through me.
Just thinking....
Thanks so much for your comments. I agree that essential to our thinking is realizing that we no longer have our own life; rather, we now live Christ's life. When we fail, it's because we are trying to live according to a life that is supposed to be dead. When we succeed it's because we have identified fully with the life of Christ within us. As you said, Christ is present in me to live out his life through me.
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