This may be random, but below are some meaningful and insightful words that I stole from a perfect stranger... Anne Morel is my brother-in-law's sister. Malia told me that Bill's sister is spending the year in Haiti working for a mission organization. I've been praying for Anne and keeping up with her on her blog. This post (which I just read and copied immediately because I feel like it is so important for people to remember, especially if they know someone like my husband who works a lot for the sake of others) will hopefully encourage you if you're over-worked and exhaust you, prompt you to pray for someone you know who is, and maybe challenge you in some way.
In talking about the passage in Mark 5:21-34 (the bleeding woman who was healed by touching Jesus’ clothing):
“Jesus was conscious of God’s power flowing out from Him to the body of the woman who touched His garment. Power that had been His passed from Him to her. It resulted in her healing, but power had to go out from Him first. There is a universal truth here. If you follow Jesus and get involved with the needy people of this world, you will be conscious of power flowing out from your life as well. By definition those in need lack the strength necessary to face the challenges of life. The only way they can get strength or power is from those who have more than they do. Ministering to such people means that power or strength or virtue will flow out from your life to theirs. It will cost you something that you will not easily replace – the very strength of your own life. This truth explains something that many people have puzzled over. When Jesus was finally crucified, why did He die so quickly? The Romans assumed that when they crucified someone it would take 24 to 48 hours for that person to die. But Jesus died after 6 hours on the cross. Why? Was it not because He had spent His life giving Himself for others, and when He finally came to the end, He had given and given and given, and from a human point of view, He had given all that He had? May that not be at least part of the explanation? Sometimes we say, in a sentimental way, that someone died from a broken heart. There is at least this much truth in that statement. When Christ died, he was exhausted from giving Himself to others.
If you follow Jesus, the same thing will happen to you. You will give and give and the power will go out from you. You can help people, but it will cost you something. Not just time, not just energy, not just money, but your very life. Strength will go out from you into the lives of the people you help. They will grow stronger; you will grow weaker. In the end, like Jesus, you too will be exhausted. But at the end of your life, you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you lived your life for others and that the strength that has gone out from you has not been in vain.” (quoting Rev. Ray Pritchard)
Romans 15:1 says “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak…” We are to use our strength to shoulder the load of those with less strength, whether spiritual, emotional, or physical. In your service to Christ, in your work in ministry, have you ever felt tired? Not like, I could use a good nap today, but physically and emotionally spent? Physically and emotionally weakened by dealing with others? If you’ve answered yes, excellent. That is, of course, Christ-like. Yeah, I know all the talk about boundaries and the dangers of becoming a workaholic. That’s not the issue today. This is a reminder that it is Scriptural to empty yourself, on behalf of others, when it is done for Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment