Ministers of the Gospel
Each of us must see ourselves as ministers of the gospel. We don't simply attend church, consuming a religious product. Rather, our whole understanding of ourselves as members of the Body is directed toward being equipped to serve effectively in our vocation and our community - wherever God places us.
Many Christians have a bifurcated (divided) view of life: Faith is over here in this compartment, and the rest of life - work, family, leisure time, and everything else - is over there.
Like the young woman who stopped me in an airport recently, "Mr. Colson, I so admire the work that Prison Fellowship is doing. I'm a believer; I wish that I could be in full-time Christian service like you."
"What is it you do?" I asked.
"Well, I'm still in school," she said. "I'm finishing up my doctoral work in molecular biology. I had planned to teach full time. I love it. But lately I've realized I should do more for the Lord. My parents were missionaries. I'm thinking of going to Brazil as a missionary."
"You are in a tremendous position to be a missionary right where you are!" I said adamantly. "How many Christians are there who are molecular biologists? The university needs people like you!"
She looked relieved, even excited, as it sank in: She was a missionary right where she was.
There are thousands of Christians who suffer from this same kind of false understanding of the glory of vocation, and a parallel misunderstanding of how God places particular people in particular places in every arena to be salt and accomplish His preserving, flavoring purposes. . .
In seventeenth-century London, as Reformation thinking about the church's influences in society was making itself felt in the city, someone painted a billboard with a picture, among others, of a tailor, a cook, a porter, a blacksmith, and a saddle-maker. The inscription read: "These tradesmen are preachers in the city of London, 1647."
Who are the preachers of America in the late twentieth century?
Each of us, as we infiltrate the arena in which God has placed us.
-From "The Body" by Charles Colson; part of The Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version by Max Lucado
Because of Christ, we are all priests. How are you ministering to others? Pray with someone, find a way to encourage them. Be on the alert should God bring someone along your path today. Don't get so caught up in your agenda that you miss the needs in front of you.
Many Christians have a bifurcated (divided) view of life: Faith is over here in this compartment, and the rest of life - work, family, leisure time, and everything else - is over there.
Like the young woman who stopped me in an airport recently, "Mr. Colson, I so admire the work that Prison Fellowship is doing. I'm a believer; I wish that I could be in full-time Christian service like you."
"What is it you do?" I asked.
"Well, I'm still in school," she said. "I'm finishing up my doctoral work in molecular biology. I had planned to teach full time. I love it. But lately I've realized I should do more for the Lord. My parents were missionaries. I'm thinking of going to Brazil as a missionary."
"You are in a tremendous position to be a missionary right where you are!" I said adamantly. "How many Christians are there who are molecular biologists? The university needs people like you!"
She looked relieved, even excited, as it sank in: She was a missionary right where she was.
There are thousands of Christians who suffer from this same kind of false understanding of the glory of vocation, and a parallel misunderstanding of how God places particular people in particular places in every arena to be salt and accomplish His preserving, flavoring purposes. . .
In seventeenth-century London, as Reformation thinking about the church's influences in society was making itself felt in the city, someone painted a billboard with a picture, among others, of a tailor, a cook, a porter, a blacksmith, and a saddle-maker. The inscription read: "These tradesmen are preachers in the city of London, 1647."
Who are the preachers of America in the late twentieth century?
Each of us, as we infiltrate the arena in which God has placed us.
-From "The Body" by Charles Colson; part of The Inspirational Study Bible: New Century Version by Max Lucado
Because of Christ, we are all priests. How are you ministering to others? Pray with someone, find a way to encourage them. Be on the alert should God bring someone along your path today. Don't get so caught up in your agenda that you miss the needs in front of you.
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