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Regardless of whether or not you are familiar with its history or the official legislation which makes it so commonly adhered across our nation, you will probably gladly enjoy a day off of your regular work on Labor Day. Officially, it is a day set aside to honor the countless individuals in our nation who daily work in some profession which is invaluable to the continuance and betterment of our society as a whole and specifically each individual community. It is certainly proper for any society to be reminded that just as every person matters, so every job matters. Every type of occupation, regardless of its perceived value to others, is in fact indispensable to any given community. Certain professions garner greater salary than others; yet, even the most menial tasks will lead to the failure of a company or a culture if left unattended.
These same principles apply in the work of the local church. Just what is to be the most important task to which the Lord has assigned His people, the local church? Jesus’ Great Commission (His ministry statement) for the church is that we “go…and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18). To say that the nature of this task is overwhelming is the greatest of understatements. How can our church possibly make disciples in every part of the world? We struggle to make disciples in our own community and even our own families! Most of us personally wrestle with the cost of discipleship in our own lives, much less leading another to follow Christ! Yet, this is Christ’s charge to us. The New Testament informs us of no other means by which the gospel will go forth. Detailing many of the difficulties associated with His calling in ministry, Paul shared how heavy was the burden of ministry in the local church: “And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28).
While my experience in ministry cannot even be compared to that of the Apostle Paul’s, like him I can attest that the work of the church is overwhelming. Regardless of how hard I preach, how much I love, how often I visit, or how long I pray, I cannot change people’s hearts. Most will refuse the gospel. And to make matters even worse, I find it impossible to overcome my own failures.
Perhaps as a Sunday School teacher, children’s worker, deacon, usher, greeter, or in your service on any number of committees, you sense this same struggle. Perhaps you find yourself discouraged by the lack of results your work for the Lord is accomplishing. As you compare yourself to others, perhaps your contribution to the kingdom seems lacking.
May the following story (compiled by Pastor Robert Morgan) encourage you in the Lord’s work.
There was once a famous German artist named Herkomer, born in the Black Forest, whose father was a simple woodchopper. Herkomer was a gifted artist, and as his reputation grew, he moved to London and built a studio there. He sent for his aged father, and the dad came, full of pride for his son, and lived with him.
The old man enjoyed creating things out of clay, and he learned to make very beautiful bowls and vases, items of which he was very proud. So, the father and son were in business together as artisans. But as the years passed, the old man’s abilities deteriorated, and at the end of the day, as he went upstairs, he would seem sad because he felt that his work was now inferior.
Herkomer’s sharp eye detected this, and when his father was safely upstairs and asleep for the night, Herkomer would come downstairs and take in hand the pieces of clay that his old father had left. He would gently correct the defects and the faults, and mold them a little one way or the other. And when the old man would come down in the mornings, he would hold up the pieces in the morning light, smile, and say, “I can still do it as well as I ever did.”
That’s just what our Father does with us. We try to do for Him what we can. We visit the sick, teach the children, sing and usher and invite and take food to the bereaved. We send our missionaries and pray for them. But we’re all frail and flawed, and our work for the Lord isn’t as perfect and pure as we would like. Yet the Lord places His omnipotent hand on it, and shapes it, and uses it in ways far greater than we know.
Don’t hold back because you cannot preach in St. Paul’s; be content to talk to one or two in a cottage; very good wheat grows in little fields. You may cook in small pots as well as in big ones. Little pigeons can carry great messages. Even a little dog can bark at a thief, and wake up the master and save the house. A spark is fire. A sentence of truth has heaven in it. Do what you do right, thoroughly, pray over it heartily, and leave the result to God.
—Charles Spurgeon
Jason