Job Opening
Many have asked me, “How do I know God’s will?” There are several ways to answer that, and I always use the one that is most obvious but sometimes overlooked: God’s word. I’m reading in 2 Corinthians in my morning quiet time and in chapter 5, verse 18, we have one answer to this question. Paul writes, “God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ Jesus…gave us the ministry of reconciliation. What does that mean? It’s a big word that means coming (back) together; restoration of a broken relationship. It is God’s heart that all believers participate in this ministry to facilitate the lost hearing the good news of Jesus which offers them the path to be restored to their Father.
I’m sure most of us,
at one time or another, have looked at help wanted ads to secure our next job. We typically scan for two things, the job requirements and the benefits. In the next chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul gives them to us and I had to laugh thinking of how challenging this ad would be for human resources staff to write. Here are just a few of the 29. You can read the entire list in 2 Cor. 6:4-10 and choose for yourself whether each is a job requirement or a perk: much endurance, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in sleeplessness, in hunger and lots more.
One thing you know for sure
about this position is that you won’t go into it and be blindsided on the day you show for work. But here’s the bottom line. When you signed up to become a son or daughter of the King of Kings, there was no entry fee, no long-term debt you had to repay. There was only the recognition of your sin which separated you from God’s family, and your voluntarily coming humbly back, believing that Christ’s death and resurrection bought and paid for your ticket.
Hopefully, you grew up in a family that required everyone to pitch in with chores to help the household run smoothly. Sometimes you got an allowance. Maybe your pay was you got three squares a day and a nice bed. Whatever it was, you learned to share mom and dad’s vision. It’s the same in God’s family.
When we embrace the vision
of sharing the gospel to a lost and dying world, we are bound together with God’s heart in the process. Now just to be clear, nowhere in Scripture does God call everyone to full-time (paid) ministry. But He does call us to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim.4:2).
Our opportunities to share what Jesus has done for us are endless. We just have to be trolling for them. And, to use another fishing metaphor, we are called to “fish or cut bait” in our sharing the gospel. Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters” (Matt.12:30).
If you struggle with this concept,
it’s OK. We all have to count the cost of being in Jesus’ family. Maybe think about all that Jesus gave of Himself so that you could spend eternity with Him. I’m not trying to guilt anybody into anything. Listen to the Holy Spirit who lives in you. He’ll guide you to those with whom you can tell your story of what Jesus did for you. That’s all this is; one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread.
If you haven’t embraced Jesus as your friend and Savior yet, but want to know more, click here, Steps To Salvation for a step-by-step plan to join the family. Thanks for reading.