What this means practically that if someone asks me to do something I shall say yes. Never mind if I'm already getting less than 8 hours of sleep (okay, okay, I sleep a LOT so this is a BIG DEAL for me!!), and barely get time for a lunch break! GRACE SHALL DO IT [do you hear the Superman theme song in the background??]
Except... Neither the Saviour nor Superman were actually little Asian girls... In fact, Superman don't even exist, dude!! So God's been teaching me over the last few years that I need to say NO.
I can not do everything. And even if it seems as if I'm coping, God reminds me that He doesn't want me just to cope - He doesn't care what the results are, 'cause what matters to Him is my attitude towards whatever I'm doing.
This realization has struck me particularly concerning my work and my ministry so I shall tackle this in two different posts.
This rebuke struck home particularly with regards to youth ministry. I shall confess now that I rarely spent much time prepping for youth. In fact a few times I would just read the passage we were to tackle before the session, and wing it on the good solid teaching I'd received and able memory God had graciously blessed me with. And they got the lesson, but that doesn't matter regarding my godliness 'cause God cares how I treat ministry because this shows how I regard His work and therefore Him. What I was showing was that I didn't really care that much!
A verse that jumped out at me during a time of conviction and rebuke about this issue was 1 Thessalonians 2:8. Paul writes:
We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
So often my mistake is to do the one thing and not the other... e.g. with some of my friends I'll share the gospel of God with them (in this case I happily did so with my youth), and with others I shared my life with them but I didn't share the Word of God with them...
What a lot to think about!
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1 comment:
sometimes we forget that ministry is people, or about people. we are dealing with people who need the hope that God has given us.
but we forget that we dont just share the massage, we share outr lives. you cant help getting involved with the poeple's lives that you minister to. and its a good thing, according to Paul in Thessalonians.
i think in youth ministry its especially important. i've discovered, and u probably have as well, that youth ministry takes time. you sometimes dont see the results for years. but in talking to some youth who have been through the groups they always mention how the person cared for them. they might not remember the Bible studies that we teach them, but they remember that moment when their youth leader cared for them and was that ear to listen or that helping hand. it can be draining sometimes but its so worth every drop of sweat and every effort that you put in.
so the next time we want to share the gospel or to share something or we doing a one to one, share you life. be that helping hand or ear to listen, along with sharing Christ. the 2 go hand in hand.
just a thought... again.
Byron.
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