“What is our ministry going to be?!?!?”
Racers clamor and question every month to hear the answer to this question. We all want to be the first to know, to get the details of what, when, where, and how we will be doing ministry for the month. We all want to be the “beach team.” That is, the team that ends up by the beach and next to the internet café and coffee shop with the best contact and location. This question of ministry is the GOLDEN question. It drives speculation and indecision, tears and fears, and worries and curiosity for us all. As I have observed this and seen this question arise in myself and others on my squad I have been forced to ask the question…
What is ministry? What do we do that makes it ministry? Does it matter if we end up on the beach or in a shack in a village? What does this word even mean? What does it mean to minister and how do we know we are doing it; let alone correctly? Do we need to lay bricks down; to pour sweat and tears into mortar and erect a church? Do we need to take care of the children and play games with them, singing songs about Jesus and praying that they somehow remember these songs as they grow up? Do we need to give money and food to the beggars in the streets; or pray for the crippled man on the side of the road?
What is it?!?! What is this thing called ministry and how do we do it?!?!
I have struggled with this question for the past several months that I have been on the Race and I have been on every side of the spectrum of answers at one point. I have believed that we need to pray for everyone we encounter, everywhere, asking God what to pray for them and listening to the Holy Spirit's call. I have believed that we need to sing and play with the kids, organizing games of soccer or duck duck goose. I have also felt that ministry means sweating a bit and forcing ourselves to go above and beyond, even to the point of being uncomfortable. All of my thoughts and opinions about this topic have came and gone, as if in a full circle. And I have concluded on one fact, and one answer. And the answer is simple.
The answer is yes. That ministry is laying down bricks and sealing them with mortar, it is singing kids songs with children that don't speak your language until you are blue in the face and it is praying for random people on the side of the road, expecting healing and blessing to come over them. But ministry is so much more. It is loving your friends and family back home and your teammates who have to put up with you every day. It is having lunch or coffee with a random person you met in the bars, spending time with them and listening to them. It is praying with your teammate who had a rough day and listening to her vent and holding a child’s hand who is sad and in need, or just being nice to the girl at the grocery store who is having a rough day at work. Ministry is everything. We can live our lives in constant ministry, and in constant connection with his love.
See that is what makes it ministry. It’s not the act of laying the bricks or the mortar that makes it ministry. It is not the act of playing a game or praying for someone or getting them food that makes it ministry. It is the presence and expression of God’s love, truth, and character that make it ministry. This is what makes it meaningful and impactful. See when you do anything out of the love and grace that God has given you it changes it. It goes from just being nice or doing what you are supposed to do to changing thoughts, opinions, atmospheres, and even actions. And the crazy part is that we have access to this love at all times. We have access to a love that is so high, so deep, and so wide that it spans the whole earth and every person on the globe. A love so strong that it conquered death and the grave. A love that is strong enough to cover us all, six billion strong, on this earth.
Romans 8:38-39
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t and life can’t. The angels can’t and the demons can’t. Our fears for today and our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell cannot keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above in the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all the world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 John 3:18
“Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other, let us really show it by our actions. It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord, even if our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”
So this is what ministry is. It is love; in action. Ironically this is our contact Emmi’s tag line for her ministry here. Haha, good one Jesus. We are all capable of doing ministry every day and being the hands and feet of Jesus because we can all act through and with his love. When we choose to act through and with his love we have the ability to change things around us. And that is what Jesus did. He acted out of love and compassion for us all and paid the highest price of death for us all that we may live and have eternal life with him.
With all I have learned about love I am still not perfect, nor will I ever be. I still make mistakes and hold back sometimes, fearful of rejection and still carrying some pain from the past that Jesus is so desperately trying to take away. I could strive all my life to love and love perfectly but I never will. But that is okay, because he already does, and did. All I have to do is believe in him and his grace will cover the areas where I fall short. He will pick up where I leave off and he will never forsake or abandon me.
Praise God. Have a lovely day!
-Dez
P.S. I am still $3,662 away from being fully funded. If you would like to help or contribute click the “support me” link on the left and make a tax deductible donation!
