At the end of a ministry do you ever feel like your efforts had no impact? Do you think your time was perhaps wasted?
I did one Sunday as I left church. All the children in my Sunday School class seemed to have arrived with attitude and thus I spent more time addressing disruptive behavior than getting across the point of the lesson—God’s faithfulness.
My teaching plan included reading God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 26:4, “I will give you many descendants, as hard to count as the stars in the sky…,” and counting Abraham’s family members. There were only three. But we read the story of Abraham’s servant and how he found a wife for Isaac, then we discussed how small beginnings would eventually result in descendants that were too numerous to count. The number includes the Messiah and everyone who follows Christ.
That evening, I shared my defeat with my husband complaining that I wasn’t very successful. It didn’t seem like the children learned anything in spite of my preparation. I was hoping they would get the point of the lesson or at least gain some knowledge of God.
My husband didn’t sympathize. “God doesn’t ask you to be successful,” he replied. “He asks that you be found faithful.” [1 Cor. 4:2]
This changed my perspective.
I faithfully research curriculum and purchase it for the teachers; copy and distribute lessons; fill shelves with resources for crafts; make sure the room is an inviting space for children; and volunteer in the rotation of teaching.
Also, I realized that I couldn’t really know how God would work in the life of each child. He alone intimately knows those He created; therefore, He alone knows what they need and how to reach them.
Success is to accomplish an aim or purpose. My purpose in this ministry is to faithfully explain God’s Word to the children. But ultimately it is up to Him to use it as He purposes.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Isaiah 55:10-11
Our ministries will be fruitful if we remain faithful. Following are three tips on how to be found faithful.
–The faithful don’t give up.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus told a story about scattering seed on various types of soil. The seed was a metaphor for God’s Word and the soil for a person’s heart.
The seed in the good soil took root and produced fruit. But anyone who tends a garden knows, it takes a lot of work to produce a crop. Jesus said the fruit comes with patience. That is what I need in Sunday School and all my other ministries and that is what you need in your ministries.
In The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, author Eugene Peterson writes: Luke 8:15 “But the seed in the good earth — these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there’s a harvest.”
Peterson had patience and perseverance. When he noticed his congregation wasn’t practicing the word he taught each Sunday, he translated the book of Galatians into “American English.” It was such a success a publisher asked if he would translate the other books. It took him 10 years to write The Message.
–The faithful abide in Jesus
In John chapter 15 the apostle John quotes Jesus telling his disciples they can do nothing apart from Him. If we want to produce much fruit we must abide in Jesus like a branch in a vine. [John 15:3-5]
So often I cling to my Lord and Savior during the preparation process, seeking guidance at every step, but let go when the task is at hand as if I am now ready to accomplish it on my own.
Or sometimes I am so familiar with a process it becomes rote and I no longer rely on God. It’s a little like brushing my teeth. I know this routine so well I don’t have to think about it.
But self-sufficiency is of the world. Growing up we learn to become less and less dependent on our parents so we can leave home. But in Christ we learn how to become more and more dependent upon God because only then will we be fruitful. To abide is to dwell with Christ, not go it alone.
–The faithful please God
To bear fruit in every good work we diligently seek to please God by gaining knowledge of Him and praying for spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Col. 1:10)
There is a sequence, writes Warren Wiersbe in his commentary on the book of Colossians. First wisdom, then walk, then work.1
He adds, “It is not we who work for God; it is God who works in us and through us to produce the fruit of His grace (Phil. 2:12-13). Christian service is the result of Christian devotion. The work that we do is the outflow of the life that we live.”
That feeling of failure can prompt us to quit. But more often it keeps us humble and reliant. Wiersbe’s reminder that it is God working in us and through us that produces fruit is incentive to cling. And it keeps us faithful.
How do we remain faithful? We patiently persevere; keep close to Christ by obeying His Word; and remember our ministries are pleasing to God when we know Him, thus know what pleases Him.
Image from Pixabay
©2024 Susan Cort Johnson *All Rights Reserved
References:
1-A NT Commentary on Colossians/Be Complete; Become the Whole Person God Intends You to Be by Warren W. Wiersbe. Published by David C. Cook Colorado Springs, CO.