Do you ever wonder what the person speaking gets out of the message? This past Sunday I was asked to fill in for Isaac who came down with a severe case of bronchitis. Although he had told me on Thursday that I might need to fill in, knowing Isaac (it would take a lot to keep him away), I thought the possibility was quite small. By Saturday morning, I still hadn't heard from him, so I kept my golf engagement. As it turns out, I left my cell phone in the car. When I finally got back to the car at 3:00p, there were numerous messages/ voicemails from Isaac. Looks like I would be filling in after all.
My take away came not so much from anything I shared, but from the end of the passage I taught from, 1 Corinthians 3:1-11. As I was studying for the time, I noticed again an amazing statement Paul made in verse 10. While it is very clear that he saw church's growth as coming from God and considered himself and Apollos as insignificant in that process, he refers to himself as a "wise master builder" (of the church.) The NIV translates it "expert builder". Interesting.
For me, I was re-energized with the idea that God has invited us into His work of building the church. Obviously, unless He causes the growth, our efforts are useless. However, like so much of the way He has chosen to work, the growth is often a result of Him working in and through our efforts. Talk about meaningful work! As I have studied the life of "master builder" Paul, it is clear that this was a passion of his: to start new churches in every city he possibly could, and to help those churches to become mature and complete--until Christ was formed in them. (See Colossians 1:28,29; Galatians 4:19). He was selfless, zealous, focused, and sacrificial to that end.
No matter what our employment status (vocational ministry, job in the marketplace, still looking...), God has work for everyone of us to do today. The work of building His people. The work of building His church. It is work that has eternal consequences and eternal value.
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