Once there was a great master who had many servants whose sole purpose in life was to do whatever he asked of them. The master was very orderly in all things and had specific tasks in mind for each servant to accomplish according to his will. Each day, as the master had instructed, the servants came before the master and waited on him to assign specific tasks he wished for them to accomplish on that day. Since the master knew the supreme plan, it was important for the servants to be prepared to do whatever he had designed for each servant to do regardless of the servant’s desires. The master found great pleasure in caring for his servants and abundantly blessed all who were diligent in doing his will.
On one day, the servants, based on their own understanding of what the master would plan for them to do, decided to please the master by accomplishing all of the daily tasks without having to be to do so. Thus, all day long the servants stayed busy doing the masters tasks through the end of the day. The next day the servants did the same, still feeling great about all they had accomplished for their master, they continued doing his work as they desired to please him. Thus, the servants decided to continue to serve in this way from that point forward. However, a short time later the master called all of his servants together to inquire where they had been for the past few days. The servants, expecting praise for the great amount of work they had done for the master, were shocked to find their master admonishing them for not being available to accomplish his work! The master also reprimand the servants for wasting time, effort, and resources he provided intended for his work.
Consequently, you can imagine how confused and upset the servants were at this point. They thought they were doing a good thing for their master only to find out what they had done amounted to nothing as far as their master was concerned. Therefore, the servants pleaded with the master saying, “Master, we were only doing what we thought you would want us to do.” Then the master told them plainly, “No matter how much good you servants thought you were doing, you were not serving my work at all. You were doing busy work based on your own understanding and neglecting my work. Furthermore, you were wasting my resources in doing so! I was clear with all of you from the beginning; you are my servants and are accountable to do my work and not these meaningless tasks.”
Consequently, far too many who make the claim to be in Christ are living their lives just as the servants in the story above. Regrettably, there are those who in fact do have a personal relationship with Christ who are doing the same. Hence, those who are in Christ must grow to understand what ministry in Christ actually is. Unlike what many suppose, our goal as His disciples and servants is not to figure out what our ministry is, but instead it is to live our ministry each day by doing His will! Therefore, anyone looking for his or her ministry has it all backwards. Our human nature wants to neatly package things in a way we can understand, yet the mysteries of heaven are not always understandable to us as His servants, we simply follow Him by faith. "For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith." Romans 1:17
Therefore, it is quite easy to understand why the many in this world who do not have a personal relationship with Christ would choose to live like the servants in the story above. They cannot understand spiritual matters because they do not have the Holy Spirit to teach and guide them. Yet, to see true servants who are in Christ behave in this manner either proves a lack of spiritual understanding or a disregard of what the Father wills for us to do. Thus, if we are truly His servants then we should not busy ourselves with what we believe he wants us to do for Him (or worse yet, what we decide we want to do for Him), we need to seek first His will and He will use us accordingly. Once chosen by the Lord to be servants of the kingdom of heaven, we must live our lives in this world as Jesus taught us to do. Specifically, we are to surrender our own will to do the will of the Father. Furthermore, we must always remember that He is the Master and we are but humble servants. This is a great mystery demanding each of us to live by faith, as we trust in His guidance. Moreover, we do not need to know what, when, where, why, how, and for who we will serve, that is His business. Our calling is simply to make ourselves available listening to His voice as He moves us to do His will by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, He will lead us each day according to His plan if we will get out of the way and let Him. This is our earthly ministry!
Thus, our ministry is not something we set out to do for God. On the contrary, our ministry is lived out each day as we surrender ourselves to let Him use us as He wishes while here in this world. Moreover, living this way ensures we give Him all the praise and glory leaving none for ourselves. Therefore, if you look backwards at the things the Father has used you to do during your walk with Christ you will see what your ministry is in Christ. Thus, our ministry is not what we will do for the kingdom of heaven, but instead it is what God wills for us to do for His kingdom. In closing, choose to be a servant and live your ministry, for your ministry is nothing more than your daily life in Christ while doing the will of the Father.
On one day, the servants, based on their own understanding of what the master would plan for them to do, decided to please the master by accomplishing all of the daily tasks without having to be to do so. Thus, all day long the servants stayed busy doing the masters tasks through the end of the day. The next day the servants did the same, still feeling great about all they had accomplished for their master, they continued doing his work as they desired to please him. Thus, the servants decided to continue to serve in this way from that point forward. However, a short time later the master called all of his servants together to inquire where they had been for the past few days. The servants, expecting praise for the great amount of work they had done for the master, were shocked to find their master admonishing them for not being available to accomplish his work! The master also reprimand the servants for wasting time, effort, and resources he provided intended for his work.
Consequently, you can imagine how confused and upset the servants were at this point. They thought they were doing a good thing for their master only to find out what they had done amounted to nothing as far as their master was concerned. Therefore, the servants pleaded with the master saying, “Master, we were only doing what we thought you would want us to do.” Then the master told them plainly, “No matter how much good you servants thought you were doing, you were not serving my work at all. You were doing busy work based on your own understanding and neglecting my work. Furthermore, you were wasting my resources in doing so! I was clear with all of you from the beginning; you are my servants and are accountable to do my work and not these meaningless tasks.”
Consequently, far too many who make the claim to be in Christ are living their lives just as the servants in the story above. Regrettably, there are those who in fact do have a personal relationship with Christ who are doing the same. Hence, those who are in Christ must grow to understand what ministry in Christ actually is. Unlike what many suppose, our goal as His disciples and servants is not to figure out what our ministry is, but instead it is to live our ministry each day by doing His will! Therefore, anyone looking for his or her ministry has it all backwards. Our human nature wants to neatly package things in a way we can understand, yet the mysteries of heaven are not always understandable to us as His servants, we simply follow Him by faith. "For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith." Romans 1:17
Therefore, it is quite easy to understand why the many in this world who do not have a personal relationship with Christ would choose to live like the servants in the story above. They cannot understand spiritual matters because they do not have the Holy Spirit to teach and guide them. Yet, to see true servants who are in Christ behave in this manner either proves a lack of spiritual understanding or a disregard of what the Father wills for us to do. Thus, if we are truly His servants then we should not busy ourselves with what we believe he wants us to do for Him (or worse yet, what we decide we want to do for Him), we need to seek first His will and He will use us accordingly. Once chosen by the Lord to be servants of the kingdom of heaven, we must live our lives in this world as Jesus taught us to do. Specifically, we are to surrender our own will to do the will of the Father. Furthermore, we must always remember that He is the Master and we are but humble servants. This is a great mystery demanding each of us to live by faith, as we trust in His guidance. Moreover, we do not need to know what, when, where, why, how, and for who we will serve, that is His business. Our calling is simply to make ourselves available listening to His voice as He moves us to do His will by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, He will lead us each day according to His plan if we will get out of the way and let Him. This is our earthly ministry!
Thus, our ministry is not something we set out to do for God. On the contrary, our ministry is lived out each day as we surrender ourselves to let Him use us as He wishes while here in this world. Moreover, living this way ensures we give Him all the praise and glory leaving none for ourselves. Therefore, if you look backwards at the things the Father has used you to do during your walk with Christ you will see what your ministry is in Christ. Thus, our ministry is not what we will do for the kingdom of heaven, but instead it is what God wills for us to do for His kingdom. In closing, choose to be a servant and live your ministry, for your ministry is nothing more than your daily life in Christ while doing the will of the Father.
