Luke 11:37-42
"When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. Then the Lord said to him, 'Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone."
The fault of the Pharisees is that they only focused on the outward form, but neglect the inward life. When we focus on the form, we easily judge and criticize others based on the form, and from our self-righteousness we can become very proud. When we teach others, we might only teach them the outward form, but neglect the real growth of their inner life. When I first started in pastoral ministry, I used to demand that brothers and sisters should attend meetings, serve God, tithe... But I neglected the more important thing, which is to teach them to love God.
When we emphasize on the outward form, our ministry may actually become less effective. One time, a man from the countryside visited the city, and saw how water flew out from a faucet when it's turned on. He liked what he saw, so he bought one from the hardware store and brought it back home. He put the faucet on the wall at home and turned it on, but no water came out. In order for a faucet to work, it must be connected to a water source through water duct, and simply having a faucet won't do anything. May God help us to see that the source of all ministry is God; when someone loves God, he will spontaneously come to serve God.
Similarly, cell group churches have been growing quickly not because of the format of cell groups, but because of the vision of mobilizing lay believers to serve. Also, praise and worship is popular not because it's fashionable, but because of our urge to worship God from the bottom of our heart. We need to value what's inside, but not the outward form. When we have the presence of the Lord and His vision within us, it's easy to expand the ministry. May God help us, let us truly walk in God's will and on His path.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.