I was in my first or second or second year of seminary when a retired pastor and an elder in our church stopped me in the hallway between Sunday School and the worship service.
“I want to ask you a question. Why do you do what you do? Why are you wanting to be in ministry?”
It was a good question and an appropriate question. It’s a question that every servant of God, whether in vocational ministry or not, should ask on a regular basis. What is our motive in our service? What is it that we want when we serve the Lord?
Without asking the question directly, John the Baptist provides his answer to that question in John 3. He offers five explanations of his ministry as the forerunner to the Messiah, and those explanations serve well as motives for our own ministry as well.
John’s five reasons for serving God are:
- Because he received his ministry as a gift from heaven (v. 27).
- Because he was not the Messiah (v. 28a).
- Because he was a joyful messenger of the Messiah (vv. 28b-29).
- Because He, the Christ, must increase because He is over all (vv. 30-31).
- Because he, John, must decrease because he is of the earth (vv. 30-31).
So here is a test of my motives as I serve the Lord. In my service:
- Do I recognize that all I have, including this ministry (whatever it is) is a gift of God’s grace to me? Do I serve humbly in this ministry because I recognize that I do not deserve to have this responsible privilege I’ve been given?
- Do I understand that I am not the Messiah, the Savior of those allotted to my charge? I am responsible, but only in an intermediary way. Christ is ultimately responsible and Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God are what will effect change in the lives of those I serve, not me. I depend on Him; He is not dependent on me.
- Do I serve joyfully, being thankful for the privilege of service I’ve been given? Ministry may be hard (remember that John’s ministry started well, but he was quickly imprisoned and then beheaded), but because our ministry is a trust given to us by the Lord, we have received a grace that is worthy of the giving of thanks always (1 Thess. 5:18). Is my service joyful or begrudging?
- Do I work in such a way that God and Christ are exalted above everything else? He must be elevated not to increase His worth, but because He already is sovereign and authoritative over all things and all people. My ministry should reflect that reality.
- Do I serve in such a way that I am humbled, that no attention is given to me? Am I doing anything to divert attention away from Christ? Do I recognize my humanity (“earthliness”) and do I serve in a way that demonstrates I recognize that I am not ultimate?
As that elder asked me about 25 years ago, so now I ask myself (and you) again: why do you do what you do?
Words of Grace 