So that I might finish my course with
joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus.
— Acts 20:24
Joy comes
from the ultimate fulfillment of my life’s purpose—that for which I was created
and reborn. It doesn’t come from the successful performance of a task. Jesus’s
joy lay in doing what the Father had sent him to do, and this is also where our
joy lies: “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).
Have I
received a ministry from the Lord? If so, I have to be loyal to it. I have to
count my life precious only for its fulfillment. Think of the joy and
satisfaction that will come from hearing Jesus say, “Well done, good and
faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:21). We all have to find our place in life, and
spiritually we find it when we receive our ministry from the Lord. First,
though, we must get to know Jesus as more than our personal savior; we must
know him as an intimate companion. Only then will he reveal to us our purpose.
“Do you
love me?” Jesus asked Peter. “Feed my sheep” (John 21:17). Notice how Jesus
doesn’t offer Peter, doesn’t offer us, a choice about how to serve. The
only possibility is absolute loyalty to his command, absolute loyalty to what
we discern when we are close to him.
Sometimes
we misunderstand the call. We think that we are being called by a certain
need—the need of God’s children to hear the gospel, for instance, or to have
someone intervene for them in prayer. But the need isn’t what’s calling us; the
need is simply an opportunity for answering the call. The call itself
is a call to absolute loyalty. God wants you to be loyal to the ministry you
receive when you are close to him, whatever it may be. This doesn’t imply that
there is a specific campaign of service marked out for you, but it does mean
that you will have to ignore the demands for service along other lines.
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