The Bible describes every believer as a minister for Christ. Some people find it hard to accept that kind of responsibility. For other people it seems to come quite naturally. Whether you are one of those that have difficulty with the idea of serving or whether you find it easy, let us look at First Thessalonians 2. This is a great educational Scripture in regard to being lay ministers. In fact, Paul itemized what he thought was necessary for any person to bear the marks of a ministering. So, let us review them.
Verse 1 reminds us that every contact is significant. We must not make assumptions that the people in our world do not need our help. We must keep our eyes and ears open for any opportunity to be a witness, to share the gospel.
Verse 2 encourages us to be bold. The world does is not want to see us stand up for Christ. It tries to stifle our efforts. However, we must always keep in mind that there are so many people that need to hear the gospel, so they do not go to hell. I know this is oversimplifying the matter , but what else can I say?
Jumping down to verse 6, Paul reminds us that in our efforts to have a positive influence for the spiritual needs of others we must avoid any tint of vainglory. We are not in the ministry of Christ to elevate our position before the world. We are in it to be obedient to God.
Verse 8 assumes that as ministers to the world, we will have a strong love for the souls of other people. Their earthly and their eternal lives must matter to us. The challenge in this verse is to ask ourselves how much we do love those in our own personal world? The members of the church who are not ministering to the spiritual needs of the lost cannot be defined as a church.
When we read verse 9, there displayed is Paul’s example of a believer who is willing to labor much. I am afraid that we devote too much time to this earthly life overshadowing our real responsibilities and the expectation that God has for us to be true workers each day, every day.
Paul complemented his readers in verse 13 by mentioning the power of truth that was operating in their lives. If we are to reflect the truth of God’s concern for other people, we must align ourselves with him. We cannot say that we have no talent for being witnesses. We cannot avoid the burden of ministering to those around us. If we take that stand, what will we say to Christ in eternity that we just did not feel that we could do it? Once we start witnessing, there will be real joy and satisfaction that God is using us.
According to verse 14, let us not be surprised if we must suffer persecution and experience trials at the hand of those who are unbelievers. Jesus pointed out that if the world hated him, we should expect the world to hate us. It may be uncomfortable for some people to accept this fact, but if we are truly serving God to the greatest depth possible, there will be kickback from the world.
Not only will the world kickback at us, but according to verse 18, Satan himself will try to hinder every effort we make for God. In another Scripture Paul reminds us that we are in a spiritual warfare in high places. We are soldiers of the cross. We must wear the armor of God.
We have encouragement from verse 19 that hope, and joy, and the crown of rejoicing awaits us in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. What we do in this life is worthwhile. Whatever obligations we place upon ourselves, whatever discomfort we experience while serving God in behalf of others is a blessed encounter. Gaining blessings from God is not theoretical. It is an interlocking work with his Holy Spirit.
Christian Writer 