5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:5, NIV)
Everything you do matters to God, and should be considered ministry. Yes, the relationships we cultivate , even our jobs, matter to God and are extensions of your worship. They should be considered part of that “true and proper worship” (Romans 12). For far too long, Christians have lived under the guise that there are sacred actions and secular actions. This has resulted in some believers overlooking the value that God finds in work and professional settings. For us, if we have truly given our lives to Christ, all of our actions should be Christ centered. Everything we do should emanate from our progressive union to God through Christ. Whether it is serving at church, or working hard in your career, everything is to be done to the glory of God. We have a duality of identities: faith leaders and secular workers who happen to be Christian. You may consider yourself a leader in your profession only, but the truth is that when we live our Christian lives without borders, we are leaders of the faith even in our professional contexts because Christ is expressed in all facets of our existence. This is type of evangelism is fitting and proper for us today. In the verse above, Paul is providing his young apprentice, Timothy, with important nuggets that he can use to carry on Christ’s legacy. Paul’s first two charges focused on encouraging Timothy to be internally stable and sound. In the next charge there is a shift in tone and expectation. Paul declares that Timothy should “do the work of an evangelist”, or in essence give life to the Christian ideology by expressing them in public and demonstrable ways. Here, Paul is pushing Timothy to move from “thinking good ministry” to actually “doing good ministry”. We are to engage in this work of active ministry, and do it from our natural context. Remember, everything that we do as believers should be viewed as ministry moments. We must broaden our understanding of ministry, and affirm those who do not carry out traditional pulpit ministry. When I do my professional work with excellence as an extension of my worship, then people see Christ’s character in my work, and ministry occurs. When you invest time in cultivating meaningful relationships because of your love for Christ, then people feel Christ’s love and your conversation (lifestyle) serves as a witness of Jesus Christ. Active ministry is aggressive and proactive in nature. It is the sense of actively finding ways to reflect Christ on the earth in every space of our existence. I want to encourage you to find ways to spread the message of Christ throughout your sphere of influence. Like Paul, I charge you to step up to the plate and do the work of the evangelist. As you reflect ask yourself: how do you define ministry? Secondly, what is your unique context of ministry? Father, grant us wisdom and insight to discern personal places where we can shine for Your glory. Comments are closed.
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