An opportunity to minister to the needs of others is one of the most basic areas of Christian service. I believe that the reason many Christians are afraid of this word are the connotations that the word brings. Within the English language, minister can be used as either a noun or a verb; most are familiar with the noun – and often think of minister as being a member of the pastor or other church clergy or maybe a member of a parliamentary governmental system. The verb, minister, actually has a different meaning: to contribute to happiness and comfort or to give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities. For a Christian, this should be a natural desire within our hearts.
Last month I was preparing a Sunday School lesson that discussed the various people we meet in life. As I tell my class, each lesson not only do I learn something from the biblical research I do, but I also get a triple reinforcement of what the Lord has led me to discover – as I prepare the lesson, as I teach the lesson, and then as I prepare the video of the class for our church website. This particular lesson hasn’t been any different; however, it hasn’t let me rest either. My attitude towards other people is beginning to change as the Holy Spirit begins to apply what I’ve been taught.
Each time we learn something about our faith, about ourselves and our walk with the Lord Jesus, we then become accountable for that knowledge and its application in our life. Within the Bible, this principle is taught in several scriptures: Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17), and The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more (Luke 12:46-48). With all my heart, I truly believe when we’ve been taught a biblical principle and make the decision not to apply it to our lives, we are choosing disobedience and not to fully submit to the will of the Lord.
Each Christian looks for an opportunity to minister to others. As I mentioned before, it is a natural change that happens as a result of our new nature that the apostle Paul spent so much of his time teaching other Christians about. The easiest opportunity for us to minister to others is the one that is the most obvious yet rarely done. It is the opportunity to minister to the other people who we meet when we are simply doing the things we do each day. There are people that God brings into our lives on a daily basis that we are to minister to. Sometimes, it may come as a kind word, as a smile, or even the lifting of a need of someone else in prayer to our Lord. Other times it may be presenting the good news that Jesus can save them if they will put their trust in Him. It may be in helping the person who is a couple of dollars short in front of you in the checkout line. It may be a bag of groceries, a Bible, or even something more substantial that the Lord lays upon your heart as a need that someone else has a need of. In any case, the Lord always match an opportunity for us to minister with our abilities and the needs of the people He brings to us.
An opportunity to share the gospel
Within our society and in this time we live people need the Lord more than ever. Right now, according to statistics available through the Family Research Council, there are more people today that have never attended church or are not members of a local church than ever before in American society. They need to hear the good news that Jesus loves them; they need to hear the gospel message of His saving grace and that God does love them and has a plan for their life. This means that every person we meet is an opportunity to share the simple gospel message. Jesus taught his disciples this very thing: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:19-20), And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), and The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18). Every person we encounter each day becomes an opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
An opportunity to meet a need
Not everyone that crosses our path on a daily basis will be in need of hearing the gospel message. They may already be a Christian, but there are always opportunities to minister to the needs of others. Again, Jesus taught during His earthly ministry: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me (Matthew 25:34-40). There are several applications that can be made from this verse with the most common and obvious being that when we minister to others we are serving the Lord. However, when we take the opportunity to meet the physical, psychological, spiritual, and emotional needs of others we are taking part in an important ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Since October, our church has collected food and toys for baskets to be delivered to families within our area. As a part of this, members of our congregation submitted names of families that they knew were in need. Some families just needed a helping hand with food while others needed food and had children in the home without the financial means to buy presents. Not only did God give our church family with an opportunity to minister to the physical needs of others, He provided blessings for those who were able to give, those who were able to take part in the delivery, and to those receiving the Christmas baskets. Yesterday there were a couple of people who shared with us the joy and blessings they received just from delivering the baskets – which gave our entire church the ability to rejoice in God’s goodness, love, and grace, but to praise His name! We may never see any of those who received the baskets in our church or join our congregation – and that was never our goal. Our goal was to just to take the opportunity to minister to others.
While it is easy to have the spiritual desire to meet the needs of others at Christmastime, this is a mindset (and a heart-set) we need to become more sensitive to all year. It’s easy to turn a blind eye to the very real needs of others even when those needs are clear to us. It is easy to adopt the secular world view that needs can be met through some government agency or service. As an American historian by vocation, I believe that this is one of the many reasons so many people are now hurting in our country is because the church – God’s people – have surrendered the idea of meeting the needs of others within the community to the politicians, bureaucrats, and other government leaders. Before the twentieth century, it wasn’t the government that provided housing, clothing, and food to the poor – it was the local church. It was the local church, through its people, that showed the love of the Lord Jesus Christ to those in need. It was through the people of the local church that the needs of both body and soul were met.
