"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, let us prophecy in proportion to our faith;
or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;
he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."
Romans 12:6-8
When I first moved to Germany, I remember thinking how the driving methods there were so different than in the USA. While the basics of driving are the same in both nations, there were some things that seemed confusing to me, and because of that I was not too eager to drive. But, when I started to actually do some driving, I realized that it was not really so hard to do, once I started to do it. Some of the original ideas I had were proven wrong, once I understood things and started to take some action.
When people think about “ministry”, they often have ideas about what ministry is that are not based on what the Bible actually teaches. When we see the word “ministry” in the Bible, it is basically just talking about serving. Every believer has been called to serve, to minister, but people don’t always understand that. In Romans 12, it talks about different gifts, different graces that people may have. What people often focus on with ministry and serving is the part about teaching and leading. But there are more things listed in Romans 12 than just those two things.
What is interesting about the list in Romans 12, is that there are things given there that almost anyone can do, right now. You don’t have to have a special assignment from God to serve others, to encourage someone, to give, or to show mercy. In fact, when people ask about getting into the ministry, I suggest that they start doing some of these things. Anyone can serve, encourage, give, and show mercy. Then, as we do some of these things, we may find that it really is something we are gifted, graced, to do. We can all get into the ministry and serve right where we are today, it is not that hard, once we actually start doing it.
or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;
he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."
Romans 12:6-8
When I first moved to Germany, I remember thinking how the driving methods there were so different than in the USA. While the basics of driving are the same in both nations, there were some things that seemed confusing to me, and because of that I was not too eager to drive. But, when I started to actually do some driving, I realized that it was not really so hard to do, once I started to do it. Some of the original ideas I had were proven wrong, once I understood things and started to take some action.
When people think about “ministry”, they often have ideas about what ministry is that are not based on what the Bible actually teaches. When we see the word “ministry” in the Bible, it is basically just talking about serving. Every believer has been called to serve, to minister, but people don’t always understand that. In Romans 12, it talks about different gifts, different graces that people may have. What people often focus on with ministry and serving is the part about teaching and leading. But there are more things listed in Romans 12 than just those two things.
What is interesting about the list in Romans 12, is that there are things given there that almost anyone can do, right now. You don’t have to have a special assignment from God to serve others, to encourage someone, to give, or to show mercy. In fact, when people ask about getting into the ministry, I suggest that they start doing some of these things. Anyone can serve, encourage, give, and show mercy. Then, as we do some of these things, we may find that it really is something we are gifted, graced, to do. We can all get into the ministry and serve right where we are today, it is not that hard, once we actually start doing it.
No comments:
Post a Comment