With every twist and turn of life, God continues to unsettle my theology by settling me more firmly within Himself. Everything I once thought ministry was isn’t necessarily ministry at all. The titles and organizations rise and fall, come and go. Religious institutions are built, then close their doors. Positions are created, then dissolved.
But worship and love remain.
To worship God is ministry. To love people is worship.
That’s right. Loving people is an act of worship to God — sometimes a sacrificial offering, but always a pleasing aroma ascending heavenward. Ministry happens all around us. When we take the time to talk with our neighbor or pick up our sister’s son from school. Or take a meal to a friend whose life is uncommonly hectic, or help an elderly person find a product in the grocery store. Or provide care for demanding toddlers or an aging parent. Or lighten a coworker’s load by bearing more responsibility for a particular project.
I can think of no better goal than to purpose to love others as an act of worship and step into the ministry that surrounds you daily.
Ministry opportunities abound, and most of them take place outside the walls of a church building by people who do not carry the title of pastor or elder or deacon.
Ministry happens when disciples worship the Master and love each other.
These two words, worship and love, are practically synonymous, or at least function as a dynamic duo within the hearts of believers.
Responding to those nudges prompting you to pray for a particular situation without your own agenda weighing in. Spending time with that person who frustrates you more than refreshes you. Giving without expecting compensation, knowing you may be taken for granted or even taken advantage of. Being truthful with yourself and loving beyond opportunities for personal gain. Giving worth to others simply because they are created in the image of God.
These are all acts of worship and love.
I wish I could say I do these things flawlessly, but I fail frequently. On so many levels. With so many people.
Mostly, I prefer to be the one on the receiving end of grace, not the extender of it.
Mostly, I feign worship when it calls me to walk in hard places. I hesitate to love as quickly or as freely as I should. I prefer to live within my comfort zone instead of stepping beyond what I think I can manage on my own.
But God continues to call me beyond. To worship in Spirit and in truth where my own rights are overtaken by a higher way.
Real worship is to love with abandon, arms stretched wide. Scary, isn’t it? To position yourself to be vulnerable, unguarded, seemingly defenseless. Open to be hurt, but also open to give and receive a love that can only be returned when we are exposed. That’s what it takes to create an environment where ministry can happen.
Ministry creates a place where folks feel safe to be themselves. Where trust is built, and stories are shared, sometimes page by painful page. Where people are heard. Seen and not overlooked. Accepted, complete with flaws and irritating habits.
Ministry happens
. . . When fresh wounds are cared for by people who bear scars of their own.
. . . When we release the rights to our own story and share it in hopes of bringing encouragement or healing to others.
. . . When we embrace the worst of humanity with the best of grace as we purpose to move forward together into the future. No longer dragging the chains of the past behind us.
This is where we invite ministry in the most precious of ways.
Worshiping in love, and loving to worship.
Whoever we meet.
Wherever we are.
Drawing eyes to Jesus.
Together, held by grace.
Together, living in love.
Together, worshiping day by day.
Together, where ministry happens.
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FOR REFLECTION
Do you have a hard time thinking of ministry as something that takes place outside the walls of a religious institution? What has made you come to that conclusion?
Looking at the life of Jesus, we consistently find Him among the people. Whether sitting in a fishing boat or on a mountainside or in a synagogue or walking through the countryside, Jesus worshiped the Father wherever He went by loving the people around Him. And He calls us to do the same.
You do not have to be in a church vocation to be a minister of the Gospel of Christ. The light of Jesus can shine through you right where you are, with whomever you happen to be at any given moment. Even if your act of love seems insignificantly small, it can have huge repercussions when it is offered as an act of worship. What are some ways God is calling you to worship and love right where you are today?