What Part of the Ministry do I Own?

10/28/10

Mark 1:12 12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.

The other night my Wyldlife leader asked the question, “What part of this ministry do you own?” As a former pastor and church-guy, the question resonated with me; I often internally asked that question of people – especially when they were absent or did something poorly and I knew they could’ve done a lot better.

Matthew and Luke say the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness. Leading seems a little kinder and gentler. But Mark says the Spirit drove Him out into the wilderness – what drives us? What part of this ministry do we own?

To de driven is to be moved to action by something greater or stronger than you. Or it’s to be impelled. Or it’s to be moved by some desperation. Jesus was driven – not against His own will but by His zeal for obeying God. Rarely do we see people that driven in the Church for the Lord. Au contraire, you may say. More often than not the only driving in the Church is to and from. We are mostly driven by distractions, not what is important. In the greater scheme of things what will really matter in our lives 10, 20, 30 years from now? What mattered to Jesus was God and only doing what He said and going where He sent. O for faith and zeal like that!

I’m gonna drive to work today because my lifestyle demands I must work – my bills drive me. But I need to think about my place in God’s Church and see what drives me there and what my motives are really about. What part of the ministry do I own?

Father in Heaven,
Today, on Your altar I lay all of my thoughts, hopes, dreams, ambitions, pleasures, and preferences. I pray to be under the compelling leadership of the Holy Spirit that I may do as You say and go where You sent – Father break my heart that it may be more like Yours – I pray in the Name of the Driven One – amen.