god wants to involve you in his glorious, eternal work of drawing people back into relationship with him.

LIGHT IN A MESSENGER'S EYES BRINGS JOY TO THE HEART, AND GOOD NEWS GIVES HEALTH TO THE BONES.

PROVERBS 15:30

Last week we asked two really important questions: “What is your ministry?” and “Are you fulfilling it?”. I hope you’ve been thinking and praying through those questions. I sure have. Now, if you remember, we landed on the fact that all of us DO have a ministry, and that ministry is a message-sharing ministry. In this way, all of our ministries are the same. However, the individual expressions of our ministries are all different. So, though God’s grand and glorious reunion message for all people is always the same, HOW we share that message in our spaces and times in our own individual ways is as varied as we are. And that is what we’re talking about today. I want to help you consider why God put you on your particular spot on the planet at this particular time with all of your you-ness. Let’s dive in. 

First off, you are the only YOU.  

Of course you know that already, but I want you to really think about why it matters. If God knows everything and plans everything, including you, then there are specific reasons he planned for you to be who you are right now, where you are. For instance, you have a unique role in the lives of the people you know. You might be your elderly neighbor’s bright spot in a string of long, lonely days. You might be your best friend’s closest confidant, the voice she most values. You might be your stylist’s favorite story-teller. If you have kids, you probably run the gamut of comforter, counselor, disciplinarian, and friend. Do you see what I’m getting at? You occupy certain, specific roles in the lives of the people you know. You also have unique experiences to draw from as you relate to those people. You might be the person who lost your job too, who drives a beater too, who had a miscarraige too, who shares houseplant splittings too. Those experiences are specific to you and impact how you relate to others. Your personality is also uniquely yours. Your mixture of humor and math-smarts, creativity and empathy is yours alone. And all of these things, your roles, your experiences and your personality all come into play as you think about how you impact other people.

(CONTINUED BELOW) 

(CONTINUED FROM ABOVE)

“Down here, it’s our time. It’s our time, down here.” 

Pleeeease tell me you know this reference! Tell me that you’ve seen The Goonies and know this heartfelt speech from Mikey. He’s trying to convince his (mostly reluctant) friends that what they do with the time they’ve been given really matters. And just like Mikey, hear me say this: what you do with your time “down here” really matters! You have a ministry. Right now. Your ministry is to the people in your life. It is a divine, beautiful calling for you, and you specifically. God wants to involve you in his glorious, eternal work of drawing people back into relationship with him. I can’t tell you exactly what that work looks like for you, but I can give you some questions to get your gears working. I’m praying that God’s own Spirit will direct your answers. You pray too, and maybe write them down. I’m gonna leave you to it. 

Why you?  

Why now?  

Who will you tell?  

What will you say? 

What is YOUR ministry? 

Are you fulfilling your ministry? 

Brainstorm some ways you can be messengers of good news to your neighbor/stylist/friend/child.**  

**Here are some ideas:  Share one of the ways God has pulled you through or shown up in your life. Share a verse you’ve memorized that is applicable to their situation. Share a specific example of how Jesus interacts with people in a similar circumstance from the Bible. Point out how you see God at work in their life.  Remind a Christian friend of how you’ve seen them grow in Christlikeness.

Thanks for reading,