Today I was out on my prayer walk, just trying to sort out what’s going on, what I should be doing and not be doing, how can I better lead my congregation and be the best pastor I can be and on and on. Yes, it was that kind of morning. I was fretting over some struggles I am having and over the condition of our world and that’s when it hit me. I’ve been running around this mountain for quite some time, and in truth this is nothing new, it just sort of came into focus for me. The answer is what it has always been. The answer is the Gospel.
I wasn’t called to politics. I was called to the church. I wasn’t called to change minds with my superior intellect, which is good because I’m not sure I have that. What I was called to do was to communicate a simple truth about a God who loves and a Savior who died and rose again. I was called to share the message of Jesus and to trust that from that point, the Holy Spirit would do His work on hearts and minds. This led me to a simple prayer. “May everything I do be for the furtherance of the Gospel.”
Now I’ll admit when that first hit me, I wanted to put qualifiers on it. Like “May everything I do in my church” or “in my ministry” but none of those qualifiers felt right. But what if I loved my family for the furtherance of the Gospel. That I lived such a good, God glorifying family life that people saw it and wanted to emulate it in their own lives, would that further the Gospel? I think it would. In the art work I enjoy creating, does that mean all my pieces have to be about Jesus? Not necessarily. What if I created the work I create to open doors to the Gospel? More than that, what if I asked God to amp up my creativity so all my work furthered the Gospel both directly and indirectly? Think about it. There are a lot of ways to further the Gospel with my life. Exercising strengthens me physically, which will give me more stamina to do the work of the Gospel. My reading and studying of course can further the Gospel.
What if I was more careful with how I use my time? What if I looked more at how I use my leisure time? Could my hobbies be used to further the Gospel, or do I need to change what I do to unwind? Am I eating well and getting enough rest? This is the only body I get and this life is my one chance to further the Gospel. So this is my prayer.
“May everything I do be for the furtherance of the Gospel.” That’s my prayer. What’s yours.