Life is Ministry

Life is ministry, and ministry is life. So often I get caught up in the idea of “doing ministry”, but the problem with that thought is that it inevitably leads to me living my life as if there are times where I am not doing ministry. As if volunteering at church is a time where I’m doing ministry, but then when I get in my car to drive home I’ve somehow finished with ministry. Thus speaking harshly to a roommate or failing to share my prized bag of Sour Patch Kids with a buddy don’t really seem like a big deal, just as long as I was good when I was “doing ministry” at church.

But I honestly believe that every second of our life is an opportunity to do ministry. If we think of ministry simply as glorifying God, it doesn’t matter if I’m alone, with a group of Christians or hanging out with a bunch of Hindu – all of life is an opportunity that bring God glory. And a beautiful truth that God has been teaching me during my time in India is that most of life is filled with little things –driving to work, drinking coffee with a friend, playing soccer – and it’s often in these little things that God’s glory shines most brightly.

Much of God’s kingdom work is a result of the steadfast and enduring faithfulness of His disciples in the little day-to-day things. What we often think of as mundane or unimportant, are actually simple, yet significant, opportunities to glorify God, and often it’s the compilation, or the piling up, of these little acts of faithfulness, fused together in the life of a faithful disciple, which shine as a powerful witness to. Even these thoughts have been sparked two of my friends back home, Andrew and Dave, who have been faithful in emailing me encouragement while I’m here. Such a small thing on their end, but God used it to teach me.

When dreaming of my future, I often picture myself as a famous mega-church pastor, or the director of a massive non-profit organization. I dream of doing big things, and while having dreams s is wonderful if they are rooted in humility, mine unfortunately are often built on pride. I want to be well known for doing “big” ministry, but in all honesty I’m probably not going to be the next John Piper or C.S Lewis. I won’t ever preach as powerfully as John Wesley or be as brilliant as Jononthan Edwards – but that’s ok. It’s ok if I don’t become a famous Christian, and it’s ok if I don’t end up doing something “big”, because God is faithful to do some of his most beautiful ministering through our faithfulness in small things. Realizing this has brought a lot of freedom and joy into my life as I think about my future.

I don’t need to worry about being like John Piper, I just need to focus on being like Jesus. I need to be a good listener, and genuinely care as a friend talks to me. I need to learn to share my box of Cheez-Itz, to be patient with friends, and to be a thoughtful encourager because, though these things are little, they are powerful. There is power in listening, not just when somebody’s life is falling apart, but when they are talking about their favorite movie. There is power in sharing your precious French fries from In-N-Out, or letting your friend borrow your car. There is power in genuinely asking somebody, “how are you doing,” and then earnestly listening to their response. There is power in loving people at work, smiling at neighbors, opening your home hospitably, sharing five bucks, encouraging thoughtfully and enjoying a cup of coffee with a heart of gratitude. These things often seem so small – so unimportant – and yet God in His omnipotence is always faithful to use these things in powerful ways for His glory.

Sometimes God uses one sermon by a famous pastor to change a life completely, but more often than not it is the faithful Christian who has loved that person steadfastly for 5 years who revealed the love of Christ. I think a good example of this is my parents. Both my mom and my Dad have loved me so incredibly well for the past 22 years. They have supported me, encouraged me, listened to me, advised me and cared for me constantly. And while I can’t look back and pinpoint any one thing they did that drastically affected me, I look back and see two steadfast and faithful parents who endured to love me well – and I have absolutely been shaped by that more than anything else in my entire life. More than any sermon, any camp or any book, the steadfast love of my parents. And if you talked to my parents, they wouldn’t say they did anything special, they just did what they knew God wanted them to do. But they did it day, after day, after day, and slowly but surly God was faithful to use that love to transform me.

So I’m probably not going to be a mega-church pastor, but that’s ok because I can just be a faithful parent someday and that will be very good. I can be a faithful friend, a faithful employee and a faithful disciple, and day after day I can try to love God in all things – especially the little things – and I honestly believe God will be faithful to do some powerful things.

Thanks for reading my blog posts while I’ve been gone. It’s been fun to have a place to hash out thoughts while we were journeying and learning. Blessings J