By William F. Holland Jr.
Every Christian has been given a mission and some type of ministry. Gifts, talents, and special abilities are distributed from God within the personal blueprint of our calling. Yes, all of God’s people have the responsibility to pray and obey, but like our fingerprints, each mission is unique. Helen Keller is quoted as saying, “The only thing worse than being physically blind is not having spiritual vision.”
It’s imperative that we examine our hearts and become familiar with our destiny. When we speak of ministry, we often think of what type of special ability we have. However, the level of our skill is not our highest form of service. Demonstrating the character of Christ proves our love for Him and is more valuable than our talents.
Many times people will use and abuse their heavenly gifts to bring glory to themselves and this was not God’s intention. Paul writes in Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
I believe humility is essential since most of what we do in public ministry is seen by others. Pride is a snare trap that loves to tempt and shift the attention from God’s omniscience to how smart and anointed we are. The awareness of our Creator who leads and empowers us to do His will is what allows us to remain in an attitude of reverence toward Him. Someone said, “When self is on the throne, Christ is on the cross, but when Christ is on the throne self is on the cross.” It’s clear that what we do is not as important as why we do it. Let’s look into this a little further.
The passage in Matthew 7:21-23 that talks about God rejecting certain religious individuals on judgment day causes us to scratch our heads because it seems that God is not appreciating their service. So, what happened? I’ve had people tell me they are perplexed and even worried about this, but I believe Jesus is warning His children that simply claiming to be a follower or doing nice deeds cannot earn eternal salvation. We must be spiritually transformed through the blood of Christ and become His disciple that gives us the passion to only do His will – not ours. He isn’t ending a relationship with them, but rather is stating they never had a genuine relationship with Him. It seems we desire His power and praise but do not want Him to control us.
When we are learning how to use our gift from the Lord, we realize that spiritual visions will most likely require natural resources and more support than just a pat on the back. Indeed, His Kingdom is not dependent on money, but somewhere, somehow, finances are usually involved. Personally, I’m cautious about focusing too much on money and more on extending my faith that God is in charge.
I have a note posted on my desk that says, “Where God guides He provides.” We know that He can open the windows of miracle blessings to make His plans a reality, so our job is to keep praying and preparing to move in His timing. After we know His plans, we must trust Him. If our dreams never come to pass, it was either because we misunderstood, disobeyed, or it was not His will.
The beauty of our redemption is not earned by our achievements, but rather is woven together with our covenant bond of accountability to manifest the image of Jesus at all times. The intentional act of the Son of God suffering on the cross for us is not only to pay for our sin but should be the center of our love and dedication to reflect His glory. When we understand we are no longer following our emotional desires and understand what God wants us to be and do in this life, we can then concentrate on interceding for His divine wisdom and direction.
May we acknowledge that God deserves all the glory, and as we become more mature we too will become more and more about His glory instead of our own. Let us heed the words of John the Baptist in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
The message of Jesus strongly emphasizes the importance of personally knowing God and loving Him with one’s whole heart, not just going through the motions of performing religious endeavors.
William F. Holland Jr. is an ordained minister, chaplain, and author. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com.
