Ministry Should Never Be a Substitute!
I will never forget the feelings I felt the first time I saw my wife standing in my mother’s kitchen. I knew from the moment I saw her that she was the one I would marry. It was the first time I had ever felt that way about another woman.
Over the course of our 15 year relationship we have had our bumps in the road, like many other marriages but God has always kept us together. The times where our relationship has experienced challenges typically occurred when one of us took the other for granted. When I say for granted I don’t mean in a terrible way, I mean one of us or both of us would simply get overly-distracted with so many of life’s challenges. We have a phrase we live by, “Every great relationship can always benefit from a healthy reset.”
What does that mean? For me, it means that in any particular season where one of us gets distracted and loses sight of the big picture it’s important to remember the one we love. To forgive the other person’s offense and re-dedicate our love for one another by hitting a spiritual reset button in our marriage.
Having served in ministry for the better part of those 15 years, I find that the same potential for “love” distractions exists in our relationship with God. The crazy part is I see it oftentimes occurring in the lives of some of the BUSIEST people for God!
In Revelations chapter 2:4 it says, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love” In the first part of the chapter Jesus is commending the Ephesian Church then he shares his displeasure with them.
It’s possible we can be so busy doing God’s work that we end up destroying the work of God in us!
My hope as you read this today is that you remember that:
Ministry work is not a substitute for a vibrant relationship with the Lord.
Jesus desires us more than the things we do for Him. And we can get so busy doing that we forget what we are supposed to be becoming! God’s Word must be a large portion of our spiritual diet, coupled with a faithful prayer life, a fidelity to honoring Him and a passion to see others know and experience the love of Jesus. Remember every loving relationship can always benefit from a healthy reset and God always allows us to return back to our first love.