Suds. Dishes. Thoughts. Thoughts long enough to last from the first spoon to the final pan. Thoughts deep enough that you forget washing any of them. Thoughts permeating your mind, dropping questions into your heart, unsettling the peace. This is life. This is ministry. Life is ministry.
http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=319138
There’s nothing spectacular about washing and drying; at least not as spectacular as preaching from a stage or singing under lights, not as rewarding as engaging conversation or as stimulating as studying, not as “spiritual” as meditating on Scripture or interceding against the forces of darkness. At least that’s what we think, how we feel.
How do you measure your life? As Christians, how do we measure our love for Jesus, our passion for His glory, our contribution to His kingdom? Surely it must be only measured in knowledge and power and courage, or by how many we’ve led to Jesus, by how many ask us for guidance, or by how many we’ve laid hands on for a miracle and had one occur.
No, surely it’s not. When we’re washing dishes, are we wasting time? When we help our children, are we wasting time? When we welcome strangers into our home, are we wasting time? When we write an encouraging email to one person, are we wasting time? If we’re not “changing the world”, making a difference on a larger scale, are we miserable failures as disciples of Jesus?
We must measure ourselves by our conformity to Jesus, which is more about direction and destination than speed and agility. It’s first about WHO we love and WHY we live and WHERE our joy is found. If you love Jesus, washing dishes to serve your family takes on the same significance as preaching sermons to reach the lost. If you love Jesus, disciplining your children is as spiritual as studying your Bible. Everywhere you look or listen or read, there’s much that wants to minimize the common, ordinary, small things you do as being “less than” or separate from what is necessary to make a difference for, or live your life for, Jesus. The result is many Christians, as disciples of Jesus, feel condemned, as if they’ve betrayed their Lord and Savior by their lack of big opportunities or their lack of big passion or their lack of big faith or their lack of big knowledge.
The one skill they have to use is now worthless in their eyes. The single penny they have to give is not enough in their eyes. The five loaves they have might as well be stale and moldy. But Jesus says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little…” (Matthew 25:21, 23); “this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.” (Mark 12:43); “Have the people sit down…Gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost.” (John 6:10, 12).
Enjoy the suds of ministry; the “work gloves” of loving Jesus. When you breathe in the dust or respond to the screaming, you are doing a good work. You are making a difference when you pull up one more chair to your family’s table. You are changing the world when you submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ right where you are.
Recent Comments