Introduction
Christmas has brought me to reflect on my life as a pilgrim on earth and as a member of the family of God. The revelry of the holidays, the parties and get-togethers sometimes allowed me to pause for a while and meditate there in the confines of my room, questions like: is this how Jesus really wants his Christian family on earth to celebrate his birthday? Are we doing all this to please Jesus or ourselves? And can we relate all these celebrations to our Christian lives and to the Christian ministry?
If all of the questions above are answered in the affirmative, then there must be something wrong with our Christian lives and the way we look at Christianity.
Main text
Evading from the noises and the sounds that I considered disturbances to my prayers and meditations, I concentrated and focused myself on what I wanted of my life; particularly my Christian life and most specifically the Christian ministry.
How can I start my ministry? Before I can answer this, I think I have to understand what the Christian Ministry is. Edmund Clowney (1964) states that to be in the Ministry is “service, and service involves being a servant, or that we have to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, serving in his community and doing it wholeheartedly without any remorse or half-heartedness.” (Clowney 3)
It also means serving our fellowmen, our brothers and sisters out there who are in need. It means sacrifice, and with love. It means looking after our neighbor, and loving your neighbor the way we love ourselves.
Moreover, should we want to focus on the Christian Ministry, and any other ministry for that matter, I think we have to get back to the basic teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is about love. The Christian ministry is about love for our fellowman but most especially for God, because service or being a servant is an expression of love.
When Jesus was asked which is the most important Commandment in the Law, he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and most important of the commandments. But after this there is another one very similar to it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. The whole Law and the Prophets are founded on these two commandments.” (Mat. 22:27-40, NREV 2000)
I have placed this as the most important reasons for any ministry, although there are other reasons why we should follow or observe a ministry.
Another passage of the Bible related to the Christian Ministry is the one in the same chapter of Matthew, 22:14 which says that “Many are called but few are chosen.” (NRSV 2000). This also pertains to the Christian Ministry or the priesthood. We receive a calling from God, but it does not necessarily mean that we are chosen to minister unto him. Others may be chosen to be in the Music Ministry or the Lay Ministry, or even others maybe chosen to the service of the poor. All those are found in the Bible.
Ministry is activity, or a lot of activities. We have to do a lot of things for our Lord Jesus Christ and the community that he initiated while he was still with us here on earth. It means we have to be busy like Paul who did everything to spread the Word of God until his death.
On my part, there are times that I forget my responsibilities to myself and to the world because of my quest for the material things of the world, the now, and not the wonderful things God has prepared for me in His everlasting glory. There is always a conflict, a conflict of interest, a conflict of purpose, and so on. I tend to be busy with menial things, unmindful of my purpose and mission on earth. May the Gospel re-baptize me to be a new Christian again, to fulfill God’s design for me and for us on earth. May the Holy Spirit guide me and lead me to my real purpose here on earth.
I would like to define my mission here on earth the way God wants me to. Just as Christ sent the seventy-two disciples to the many parts of his country Israel, to gather the lost sheep of Israel, so may he send me because I know that the work has never been completed because the work of the community of Christ is continuing. We are in communion with the saints in heaven and we have to be as spotless or sinless as we can afford to be, although it seems impossible, but with the blessings and graces of God, this is possible. Just as Jesus was asked by his disciples that it was or it seemed impossible to be saved, but Jesus replied that all things are possible with God, if only we obey or follow His commandments and trust Him to the fullest without any doubt.
We have to live my life the way God wants us to do it, and after this we have to share this kind of life and principles to our brothers and sisters. This is the simplest explanation of the Christian ministry. But researching on this paper on the topic of Christian Ministry, we have to seek the Bible and other books of Christian reading. Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life, is a book about the ministry, apostleship, and discusses our purpose here on earth. It is a consultative book, sort of a book about medicine, but a spiritual kind of medicine. Reading it alone and aloud makes my spirit soar to the sky, and makes my physical body sacrifice for the sake of my spirit and my fellowman. It always points to the Bible as the source of spiritual life, as spiritual oxygen, so that we become always active in our Christian ministry, and our mission and purpose on earth. Reading this sort of books and other related literature about Christian living and the Ministry allows us to reflect and be well-versed about our spiritual life and the way we are going. We have to forbid ourselves from other readings or those we call instruments of evil disguised in the name of art. Reading this kind of literature can lead us astray and we become instruments of evil itself.
Rick says:
“Be ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect.” [1 Peter 3:15-16 (TEV)] The best way ‘to be ready’ is to write out your testimony and then memorize the main points. Divide it into four parts:
- What my life was like before I met Jesus
- How I realized I needed Jesus
- How I committed my life to Jesus
- The difference Jesus has made in my life.” (Warren 291)
Conclusion
I would like to connect or relate this to my thoughts and ideas of the Christian Ministry. My life before I committed myself to the Ministry was a life of confusion and no direction. It was really a time of ignorance of Christ and the way a Christian should commit himself and his whole life to God. But now, life has become simple. I realize there are many things that I should do for God and for my brother and sisters, to be able to sacrifice and be a real Christian. After reflections and some meditations, I also realized I have to exert a lot of efforts to avoid temptations and to be always in company with good people and always ask God’s graces that I become sinless and pure in the eyes of God, so that the Holy Spirit will continue to dwell in me.
The Ministry involves telling the whole world about Jesus Christ. In Psalm 117:1bc, 2: “Go out to the world, and tell the Good News.” (NREV)
I know God will be with me and all of us until we would have all accomplished our missions here on earth. We will be with Him in his everlasting glory soon.
Works Cited
- Clowney, Edmund P. Called To The Ministry. U.S.A.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1964
- The Holy Bible. The New Revised Standard Version. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
- Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Life. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002.